Gunchy

haha I saw you there

I wouldnt recommend acetone as its a paint thinner though its not being applied on top of the paint, it just doesnt seem like a good idea at all...

it shouldnt be grainy at all.. you might have to very lightly sand it again and go over it with the rustoleum white, but place the can closer to the helmet. I'm guessing that its to far away and the helmet is catching very diffused particles of paint, not enough to cover the entire surface, dont worry about doing a few coats as long as they are thin.

So i've reached the interior stage of modding my mrce and im at a crossroads, or perhaps looking at a hybrid of helmet functionality. The hard hat suspension comes with the FX but i noticed not many people have them in their buckets that have posted the interiors, is this because they're inferior? what makes someone choose foaming all around the helmet? My head is just a touch taller than being a big circle My worry is that I wont have something secure with just foam padding.. the helmet will still be bobble heading around after I stop moving.

puting a light inside the helmet next to the mic tips also works too but if it isnt hot enough after 10 mins or so you risk melting the surrounding helmet and warping it, though if it is hot enough they just pull right off with little force.

Indeed there are a lot of good painting tutorials out there. I used an OSH semi-gloss black spray paint enamel for the inside of the helmet.. doesnt have to be glossy, I just like things shiny lol. I decided to paint the inside as to make my head and eyes less noticeable through the lenses and looking up from the helmet so no white is visible from underneath. Wait a few days to let the paint inside cure so you can mask off the inside, frown, and lenses so when the tape or whatever is removed, it doesnt take the paint with it Once it's masked, make sure its all sanded down and smooth. After you've applied the final coats of rustoloeum it will hide some mistakes but not much. Apply a 200 or 240 sandpaper to get any paint already off. Remove any dark colored paint such as the grey that might be on the traps, tears, frown. Get as much off as possible, most of it will be covered by the primer. Apply a higher grit like 400 then about a 600 to make it nice and smooth. If you have the MRCE, make sure to remove all those bits of rubber from the weather stripping, an exacto works good. I applied bondo/a plastic filler on: The MRCE tusk to face seam, all around ears seam, Back of dome to back of neck seam. I originally applied Bondo for cars to the frown seam but that took forever to sand down and required another paste to harden it. I used "KAMPEL SEAMFIL - Special 905" I found at an electronics store for $1 a bottle so I bought 3. I didn't even use a quarter of one tube. it dries fast and can be spread on by your fingers. Allow it to cure for about 48 hrs then sand it down to a smooth finish. Acetone (found in nail polish remover) will easily remove the paint on the traps and tears of the MRCE Once its all masked and sanded down smooth with all seams filled, clean any dust of the helmet with a once over of rubbing alcohol, then apply the primer. I bought Rustoleum Touch white primer from OSH, it states that its wet or dry sandable. clean any dust of the helmet with a once over of rubbing alcohol. I didnt have a stand for my helmet so i put a 2 liter coke bottle half filled with water and a full roll of toilet paper out on my porch then placed the helmet on that so I could easily paint any angle of the helmet. Shake the can up for about 2 mins straight, spray a little in the air to clear the nozzle and apply in even horizontal/vertical strokes. You MUST keep the can 10-16 inches away from the helmet or it will collect paint and run. You can always apply another thing coat, but it's very unforgiving if you get too close and acquire a big blotch of runny paint. The lesson learned here is that spray paint only sticks to sticky surfaces or smoothly sanded ones (the sanded surface has left holes for the paint to collect and stick) I did a once over the helmet 3 times every 5 minutes to make sure I couldnt see any grey paint I had missed with sanding. I went into the danger zone and started sanding the next day with a 600 grit very lightly to make the surface smooth and free it of any paint particles sticking up. To be safe let the helmet dry for 48 hrs and cure for 5-7 days depending on humidity and temperature. Once it's nice and sanded, go over it once again with rubbing alcohol and do the same process with the rustoleum pro white gloss enamel. It leaves the helmet looking nice and shiny, but it still retains a bit of texture. If you want it looking professionally shiny like you would find for a display helmet, Rustoleum also produces a clear enamel gloss that will make it look just that. Though I am not sure if you are supposed to apply the clear enamel before or after decals/detail paint is applied. If you do gloss, do not sand the helmet with the white enamel gloss already applied. The can states that it takes 48 hrs to dry, 5 days to fully cure. You can just feel if it even feels remotely stick in some places then its still curing. this is all found in other paint tutorial, I just happened to condense it into my own words and few details. to get an idea of the shininess and what it looks like with the seams filled.. yeah I messed up a little but no one can tell if they are further than 2 ft. -----------

I managed to pull one of them off so far using the light bulb method. Took a little bit of time to warm it up, about 10 mins or so. Now im stuck with a big chunk of plastic poking up and no dremel around to cut it off :-/

Ive sanded down my helmet and painted the inside black.. but for the life of me I cannot remove the aerators. I tried using a light bulb, hair dryer, alcohol, acetate but I cant seem to get the damn things off. Anyone got any suggestions?