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Custom Pocket Pro helmets-Got Any to share?


mcrosby

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First of all: I have no idea which forum I should post this in, but I'm making my own helmets so I guess it fits in the concepts section. PLEASE MOVE IF NECESSARY

Second of all: I'll post pictures ASAP but for now I just have a few questions.

Alright all, I recently painted myself a Maryland flag helmet pocket pro, and it turned out quite nice. Rutgers latest helmets will be my next endeavor. I used a white helmet for the Maryland job, taped it off and went to work on it. Rutgers is going to be a different story. I'll be starting with a black helmet, painting some 'chrome' spray paint I found and then basically scratching the hell out of it to get the right look. I've tested this method out a bit and I'm confident it will work. The Rutgers 'R' is pretty simple so I may just paint this logo on, as I did the Maryland design.

I'm wondering if you all have made any custom pocket pros. How did you remove the decals? How did you make/print new ones? What was your final result?

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  • 1 year later...

Pick out the ones you made because they are so good I can't tell which is which!

Customs are as follows: UConn (eBay), ECU (E), FSU (E), Houston (DIY), Navy (DIY), Nebraska (D, didn't like the factory produced versions "N"), ND (E), Oregon (E, by far the most expensive custom in my collection), Rice (D), SMU (D), USF (E), Temple (E), Tulane (E), Tulsa (E), UCF (E).

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4298a2342066700.jpg

No customs here, just wanted to show the rest of my collection.

Almost all of my helmets have been gloss coated. I used to use Tamiya or Testors clear gloss applied with a brush, but I was never happy with the brush marks that often resulted (you can see them on a few of my older helmets). My current gloss coat of choice is a self leveling acrylic floor finish that has been on the market for decades under various names ("Future" became "Pledge with Future Shine" then "Pledge Vinyl and Tile Floor Finish with Future Shine" and finally it's current incarnation "Pledge Floor Care Multi-surface Finish"). Scale modelers use it to make clear parts look thinner and clearer and as a gloss coat prior to applying decals. The current packaging looks like this:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pledge-Floor-Care-27-fl-oz/15136693

IMPORTANT! Johnson in their wisdom has chosen to market several floor care products with very similar looking packaging but wildly different formulas (i.e. non-acrylic). Be sure you get the right one!

Pour some in a container deep enough to submerge the helmet. Remove the facemask. Using tweezers, grasp the helmet by the nose bumper and dip it until it's completely covered, then slowly lift it out allowing the excess to drip off. Place the helmet on a paper towel to wick away any remaining excess and cover it so that no dust settles on it while it's drying (I use a large coffee cup). It should be dry to the touch within 30-60 mins.

A couple more points:

  • I no longer gloss coat white PP's because I have yet to find a product that does not yellow over time. The unpainted white plastic Riddell uses seems especially prone to this. The good news is that the other colors seem to be immune (even the ones with white stripes/logos).
  • Use caution when glossing already finished customs. Some customizers use stickers (as opposed to water slide decals), Future will make the ink run. Decals generally have no problems but it might be a good idea to test an inconspicuous spot first just to be sure. If you're doing your own customs you should gloss the helmet before applying any logos. Once it's dried for 24-48 hours you can apply either type with no problems.

"How did you remove the decals?"

The logos on factory produced PP's are printed on, which makes them fairly easy to remove. Just put a small amount of Brasso on the logo and then rub using a circular motion on a soft cloth (old t shirts are good for this) until it's gone.

"How did you make/print new ones?"

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  • 8 months later...

Where do you get like plain white ones for cheap?

I would think your best bet would be ebay, There are several sellers who break up conference sets to sell the helmets individually, so they often wind up with a bunch of white or black conference logo helmets that they need to unload.

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Daaaaaaaaaang these are so cool. You even got the exact finishes right. If only they were actual size, I'd wear one around the house each day :P

I'm going to assume the Tennessee has the updated stripe right? Hard to tell from that angle.

@loganaweaver - Twitter / @loganaweaver - Instagram / Nike Vapor Untouchable Football Template  / Logan's Logos

 

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Daaaaaaaaaang these are so cool. You even got the exact finishes right. If only they were actual size, I'd wear one around the house each day :P

I'm going to assume the Tennessee has the updated stripe right? Hard to tell from that angle.

My Vols helmet is a factory produced version from several years ago, so no. I do not know if the one included in this year's SEC set has the correct checkerboard stripe.

And how do you make these? Like especially the logos

See the earlier posts in the thread. Some folks use sophisticated programs like Adobe Illustrator or CorelDRAW to prepare their artwork, but I prefer the simplicity of MS Word.

Do an image search for the logo(s) you need;

save them onto your pc;

open them in IE;

right click the image and copy it;

open a word doc;

paste the image;

right click the image and choose "size and position". You can then resize the image to whatever size you need. The cool thing about doing it this way is that there is little to no loss of image quality.

Wish I had the extra money to pick up on a hobby like this. Does your Tech helmet have a single red stripe or does it split into white like the actual one?

Solid red. Another add to my "to do" list. B)

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When you spray "fixative" on the decals, what product do you use? Would regular spray clearcoat (Satin or matte) work?

Thinking of making my son some custom diecast vehicles.

I think so, but I can't say for sure because I don't do it that way. The guy in the video appears to be using this:

http://www.amazon.com/Krylon-6-Ounce-Crystal-Acrylic-Coating/dp/B001K65K26/ref=pd_sim_21_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=06PJ56STHV7MA04GWKD8&dpID=31meI96EjJL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

I prefer to use Micro Liquid Decal Film. After you print your decals (and allowing some time for the ink to dry), you just brush a light coat over the artwork with a wide flat brush. After 15 mins or so the brush strokes will disappear and you're good to go.

http://www.amazon.com/Microscale-Industries-Micro-Liquid-Decal/dp/B0006O9K5G/ref=pd_sim_21_6?ie=UTF8&refRID=1S5PE6B9Q84THXTFCWRR&dpID=31h5iylDP4L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_

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  • 2 months later...

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