Finishing a Vader Helmet, beginning to end.
- Thread starter Atarian
- Start date
Hey,
What I would suggest for filling pinholes over primer is "Glazing & Spot Putty" made by Bondo. It is a red, air-curing putty that bonds well to primer, much better than the 2-part stuff in my opinion. Once it has hardened, lightly sand it smooth, then hit it with the primer again. Repeat this until the whole helmet is perfect, then you are ready to paint.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
MJC.
What I would suggest for filling pinholes over primer is "Glazing & Spot Putty" made by Bondo. It is a red, air-curing putty that bonds well to primer, much better than the 2-part stuff in my opinion. Once it has hardened, lightly sand it smooth, then hit it with the primer again. Repeat this until the whole helmet is perfect, then you are ready to paint.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
MJC.
Wow, you're doing great on your mask. Hopefully I'll get some more time this week to work on my Vader mask.
X3RO_SHIF7
Well-Known Member
nice.
imported_Darth_Vader
New Member
i know u made every inch of this helmet...but i think u should leave the painting to a professional. Take it to a local auto paint shop..they will do a professional job. cost may be 50-200...im not sure but worth every penny in the end just my 2 cents. But u did an amazing job man.
Hey.
Looking good. From what I can tell from your pictures, it looks like you have been doing multiple thin, misty coats of the gloss paint. That's fine for covering with the colour, but for the finish coat, it needs to be a little heavier. There is a fine balance here when spraying gloss paints, as you need to put a fairly heavy coat on there, but not too heavy. You also have to do it all in one go, you can't just do a little portion, let that dry, then move on to another portion. To get an even glossy texture you have to keep going until the whole thing is covered. Gloss paint requires quite a bit of paint to be put on at once to allow itself to relax onto the surface (which must be sanded perfectly smooth) and form a nice even gloss finish. The danger of going too heavy in one coat is that it can start to build up and run and ruin the whole finish. If that happens, you will have to let it cure, sand it down, then try it again. I might suggest practicing on something else, a scrap of something, until you get the hang of it. Once you feel comfortable, take a stab at it on your helmet and see how it goes. After the whole helmet is painted and has fully cured, you could try giving it a coat or two of Nu Finish to really make it shine.
Hope this helps.
MJC.
Looking good. From what I can tell from your pictures, it looks like you have been doing multiple thin, misty coats of the gloss paint. That's fine for covering with the colour, but for the finish coat, it needs to be a little heavier. There is a fine balance here when spraying gloss paints, as you need to put a fairly heavy coat on there, but not too heavy. You also have to do it all in one go, you can't just do a little portion, let that dry, then move on to another portion. To get an even glossy texture you have to keep going until the whole thing is covered. Gloss paint requires quite a bit of paint to be put on at once to allow itself to relax onto the surface (which must be sanded perfectly smooth) and form a nice even gloss finish. The danger of going too heavy in one coat is that it can start to build up and run and ruin the whole finish. If that happens, you will have to let it cure, sand it down, then try it again. I might suggest practicing on something else, a scrap of something, until you get the hang of it. Once you feel comfortable, take a stab at it on your helmet and see how it goes. After the whole helmet is painted and has fully cured, you could try giving it a coat or two of Nu Finish to really make it shine.
Hope this helps.
MJC.
TallDarkandDisfigured
Sr Member
A good method for painting and clear coating(clear especially) is to put on a tack coat(like your first pic), then let it tack up and follow it with a wet coat or heavy coat. This is where you get the shine you want.
The tack coat is thin enough to hold well to the helmet and gives a grip for the wet coat. Then you have less chance of lifting.
Add lots of clear, cut and buff it and you'll have a mirror shine.
I can't wait to get to the paint stage of my Rubies.
The tack coat is thin enough to hold well to the helmet and gives a grip for the wet coat. Then you have less chance of lifting.
Add lots of clear, cut and buff it and you'll have a mirror shine.
I can't wait to get to the paint stage of my Rubies.
imported_Darth_Vader
New Member
what r u gonna use for lenses?
celtic touch
Well-Known Member
Hey Just read this post and think you are doing a fantastic job. Trust me to get a professional finish on the helmet I get my mate who is a top notch auto painter to do em. So I opp to leave to the pros, but Im sure you will get there.Sorry I didnt read the post earlier or I could have pointed you in the direction of how to do a lot of the work on it 
anyway your doing great.
CT
(oh I am still making em but atm unpainted ones as my painter has gone overseas)
anyway your doing great.CT
(oh I am still making em but atm unpainted ones as my painter has gone overseas)
yakcam
Sr Member
Originally posted by celtic touch@Jul 24 2005, 06:06 PM
Hey Just read this post and think you are doing a fantastic job. Trust me to get a professional finish on the helmet I get my mate who is a top notch auto painter to do em. So I opp to leave to the pros, but Im sure you will get there.Sorry I didnt read the post earlier or I could have pointed you in the direction of how to do a lot of the work on it
CTÂ
(oh I am still making em but atm unpainted ones as my painter has gone overseas)
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Hey creamedgeezer,
Man, it's looking great, I cant wait to see it finished. I love progress threads, especially Vader ones.
Hi CT,
I spoke to you a looooong time ago about your helmets, are you back in OZ?
Cheers,
Kraig
celtic touch
Well-Known Member
Hey Craig, yep back in the land of OZ, Been so damned hard to do fibre glass work here as its winter and hard to get it to go off, but am in f/glass mode so WATCH OUT ..LOL gee should not steal this thread..of I go
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