Helmet Cruzer helmet assembly and visor installation
- Thread starter Cruzer
- Start date
Cruzer
Well-Known Hunter
The outer surface is aluminum cold cast, and then that is backed with fiberglass cloth and resin.
Here are a few in progress paint pictures. After covering the inside of the visor also with tape, I draw light lines with a sharpened pencil using the contour of the check to guide the pencil to separate the two areas. Then I use 1/8" blue stripers tape to tape off the part that will remain CC and fill it in with blue painters tape.
Then I use the same stripers tape to tape around the rf curve and place small pieces of tan masking tape (stickier) in small sections as I go to hold down the stripers tape.
When that's done I mask off the rest of the areas with the tan tape and newspaper.
When painting, I keep the coat thin and paint the areas that are going to be blue to give me a smooth surface for the lighter blue. I prefer to do the darker blue first so that the lighter blue is raised a bit and because it's easier to tape off the darker blue sections later using the 1/8" stripers tape and following the contours.
Also, a note on the ear pieces. Usually even after sanding, little air bubbles and small dots randomly form where the paint will not stick. So I usually spay a thin coat, and then use my finger to lightly rub those areas filling in the small bubbles with the paint. Then I go back and give the ear pieces a second and thicker coat that will smooth everything out and makes the paint stick in those initial troublesome areas.
After this, I won't touch the helmet for an entire week. This is very hard to do but critical to minimize tape indentions when taping off for the second color. However, I will probably bring it inside the house after it has aired for a few days due to the cold outside temperatures. In the meantime, I prep the rf and paint it as soon as possible. Hope this information can help someone.
-Lorenzo
tubachris85x
Well-Known Hunter
Looks sexy
bigkidbiggertoys
Well-Known Hunter
I like your R2 paint stand
tubachris85x
Well-Known Hunter
Was curious to know what is the best adhesive to use for this? I've spent the better part of yesterday trying to mount the posts, but nothing I had tried was holding the pieces down....I was trying to attach the two lower-mandible posts. Tried two different types of CA glue, and even Devcon. I'd place the visor on to tighten down to check placement, but the lightest pressure lifted them.
Cruzer
Well-Known Hunter
I've only ever used the CA glue seen in the pic that is 11 pics from the beginning, by Satellite City. It's called "Super T".
Here's a link to their website...
http://www.caglue.com/
syllander
Active Hunter
Gotta make sure the area is free of any contaminants, and the adhesive has to be allowed to cure. Some CA glues take quite some time to reach full cure if the volume is past a drop.
I'd recommend JB weld as long as it's used sparingly. Been holding down rare earth magnets on my gauntlets for months.
I'd recommend JB weld as long as it's used sparingly. Been holding down rare earth magnets on my gauntlets for months.
tubachris85x
Well-Known Hunter
I'll try to find this then, I'm not quite sure. I've used CA plenty of times for builds, but man, this was making me want to throw the helmet across the room! Thank you!
- - - Updated - - -
This is true. JB weld was my thing for a long time. I did find that it can be pretty brittle though, but if applied right, it holds really well.
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Cruzer
Well-Known Hunter
I also use Plastic Weld when I'm adhering aluminum stock to roughed up fiberglass when assembling knees. So you could probably use that if you don't mind the extra work of applying it smoothly.
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tubachris85x
Well-Known Hunter
That's true. I grinded down the "trenches on the inside for the modified posts to sit, but I'm deathly afraid of going too far with it. One side laid down pretty flush, but the other one may need just a bit more work (realized it was still slightly too high after trying to put the visor in)
I think the other issue is that my visor is not pre-formed. It's almost paper thin, very pliable, etc. I have no issues getting it into the helmet, though, I think the vertical portion, since it's not curved, there is more tension. The plastic itself does not shape very well. I had it sitting in boiling water for over 10 minutes just shot right back into it's original flat shape. I may need to find an actual-pre-formed welder's face shield...
syllander
Active Hunter
Have you tried the visors at T-visor.com? They look really nice and are formed. 3mm thick. Think they were $12 each....I got one but haven't fit it to my helmet yet.
I hear you with epoxies though. Many do not hold up well to shear loads of any kind, but if you let it(JB Weld) sit 24 hrs and it was prepped right, you'd have to use like King Kong pressure to pull them off!
I hear you with epoxies though. Many do not hold up well to shear loads of any kind, but if you let it(JB Weld) sit 24 hrs and it was prepped right, you'd have to use like King Kong pressure to pull them off!
tubachris85x
Well-Known Hunter
I've seen them before, but IIRC, someone sent me one of theirs with their helmet for the commission, and for some reason, the visor was not large enough and was not nearly wide enough to span the length of the upper visor "squint"
While I did buy two welders visors from Amazon, they come flat, and all attempts to heat it (short of a heat gun, cause I know that will cause bubbling of the surface) failed, as I guess it is intended to take a considerable amount of applied heat to affect it's shape. I did find another supplier for the face shields, and they appear to be already formed in a curve, which I think is what I need to really make this work without putting a lot of stress on the post's connection.
I think I may go ahead with using JB weld. I'm not too concerned if I use that. I can at least move forward with painting the helmet in the mean time. Worse case, I use expoxie or hot glue to hold the visor in, but I really want to make this work....
tubachris85x
Well-Known Hunter
They're not bad, but it's just by design. I used this for a Dredd helmet commission I did and it worked great, but for this specifically, the need for it to have an existing curve is necessary, which I didn't factor in or think about...maybe if the plastic was thinner or allowed itself to be reshaped..
Mullreel
Well-Known Hunter
You guys do realize there is a really good custom fit visor cut-out and installation tutorial at the top of this thread?? Don't make it more difficult than it needs to be.
yep that tutorial is exactly how I have done mine.
syllander
Active Hunter
Of course! Thought I'd get ahead of the curve with one by T-visor though. Using the tee brad nuts as depicted here, just hoped to save some time by buying a visor I knew would be of quality material, rather than ordering a random part or driving around the ATL looking for a decent welder a visor...
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