Yeah, the moment at which I wiggled some of the screws or overly tightened them and saw them starting to move under the paint was a dark moment.
And I should also mentioned at first I made a very small countersunk hole that I don't think allowed for enough filler. So that's why in that first screw-up pic you see a lot of the area cleared out around the screws. I cleared more area out around the screws to allow for more bonding to the helmet surface. And that Plastic Welder epoxy is indesructable (used it for the aluminum backing on my JD knee armors) so I knew that would hold like a champ. It's just a pain to sand because it's so hard when cured, so I took the dremel to it.
As far as the template, I used the basic shape of one of my Bobamaker visors, but had to lengthen the ends in the eye areas because it wasn't as long as I wanted it to be. But if you use the visor template that BKBT provides with his helmet that should be sufficient. The only reason I went through two Bobamaker visors is because I used too long of screws the first time and cracked the first one trying to get the visor off after setting it. Then I grounded the screws down a little and cracked the second one trying to force the visor on. What can I say, I'm a Neanderthal! The welding visor is about half as thick and I noticed it's a lot more bendable and so I was able to work with it better. I just screwed up my first welding visor because I tried to clean it with Acetone(stupid me thought it was solvent resistant
)
And just to let everyone know, the acorn nuts don't even come close to touching my face when I press the front of BKBT's helmet towards my face. Trust me I tried it because the thought had occured to me too. But I noticed the recessed mandables stop the visor area from touching my actual face.
Based on my trial and error, I would suggest the following steps for anyone who's thinking about using this method to install their visor.
1. drill your holes (one drill bit size larger than the diameter of the screws to allow for play) making them fairly symetrical on each side.
2. then mark the holes on your visor while you temporarily hold it in place.
3. remove the visor and drill out your marked holes with a drill bit that is two drill bit sizes larger to allow you to easily put on and take of the visor and adjust as necessary.
4. Countersink your holes using a countersink drill bit. Then with a utility knife clear out some area around the hole to enlarge the filling/bonding area and rought up a little with 60 grit sandpaper.
5. With your dremel and a grinding bit, rough up and somewhat gouge the screw heads and tapered areas. Make sure you leave enough channel to still use a screwdriver to tighten the screw.
6. Put some masking tape on the exposed surface of the visor so it doesn't get scratched or so that the filler/glue sticks to the tape.
7. Install the visor via the screws and the nuts you decide to use. I'd recommend hand tightening with the use of a socket but not using the wrench that way you don't overtighten them and risk tearing through the helmet or cracking the visor.
8. Doing one screw at a time, take off the nut, remove the screw, and apply your glue/epoxy around the hole area. Then, reinstall the screw(trying to keep as much glue off the threads as possible) and the nut and tighten so that the screw is in the exact position/angle it needs to be in when the visor is installed and the nut tightened. Then leave it to dry and move on to the next one.
9. Rough sand, fill, and smooth to your heart's content before primering.
That's how it worked best for me. I know my explanation is long, but I wanted to share it with everyone who was interested because of PMs I've received asking for details.
Give me a minute and I'll post some pics showing the materials and hardware I used.
Thanks,
Cruzer
