Piers Dowell – Airbrush Master

About Helmet Painting

Call: 01568 750477

Piers has been painting crash helmets since 1991 and has therefore painted in excess of 2500. He has always taken the approach of working to a quality rather than a price. Placing an order: Once an initial enquiry has been made and the customer decides to go ahead we will require a deposit of £60. If we are ordering in a new crash helmet we require full payment of the helmet. On receipt of this we can then do computer mock ups. These cost £60 for a single view and £100 for a 3 view. Amendments thereafter are free of charge. Once the design is okayed we can commence on the actual helmet. Turnaround times vary greatly throughout the year but you will be advised of the current waiting time when placing the order. In the case of rush orders with a short deadline it may be possible to accommodate but it will have an effect on cost as it’s highly inefficient to rush one through.Once the helmet is complete we require full payment before the helmet can be dispatched. Obviously we are happy to send proof photos beforehand. We also operate a no quibble guarantee so customers know they will always be satisfied with the end result. Payment can be by cash, cheque or internet transfer.

Technical

We use House of Kolor paint from the U.S. It is a solvent base product specifically designed for custom painting. The first process the helmet undergoes is a strip down. This includes the trim and all the removable liner parts together with the vents and visor. Something to note here is that we do remove the trim. Most helmet painters do not and frankly we feel it makes for an inferior product not to do so. Ever seen a car that’s been re sprayed without removing the windscreen? There’s always overspray on the trim. Then the remaining liner and polystyrene main cranium liner are masked to isolate them from any solvents during the painting process. The exposed vent holes are also bunged for the same reason with a putty which is cut out afterwards.Second hand and stone chipped helmets are primed with a high build primer, new helmets are treated to a coat of sealer after sanding and the base colour of the design applied. In the case of 8860 specification helmets with a total weight limit for paint and helmet, there may be some limitations on design and paint effects as they may push the total weight over the limit.After technical discussions with the helmet manufacturers we cure helmet paint at 60 degrees centigrade which has no detrimental effect to the shell and liner and is the recommended cure temperature for the paint we use. When looking into a suitable painter please note that many helmet painters do not have the facility to properly cure paint in a controlled environment. We use a purpose built spray booth and low bake oven. This ensures clean paint and thorough curing.  

Once the paint scheme is complete the helmet is then reassembled using the correct adhesives and VHB tapes for the vent systems. Helmets are packed for shipping in two boxes to ensure they reach their destinations in tact. We use Parcelforce and parcels can be tracked from dispatch to destination.