|
CLEANING
AIRBRUSHED MOTORCYCLE HELMET SHIELDS
Your new airbrushed
helmet may have included a matching
airbrushed shield. If so you will need to
clean it using the following steps so you do
not damage the artwork.
- Always remove the
shield from the helmet first.
- Take the shield
and place it under running water and let
the water loosen the bugs / dirt, then
take a very small dab of regular dish
detergent and gently work up a lather
gently with hands (no towels).
- Do not use
anything stronger than dish detergent as
it may smear or even remove the
artwork. I use Dupont CUT-IN-CLEAR in
an aerosol can to protect them but it
has its limits.
- Then take a paper
towel and lightly dab the shield to
remove most of the water and let it dry
on its own the rest of the way. Do not
rub the shield as the towel will catch
the holes in the material and mess
things up.
- This is our
preferred way of cleaning to ensure
longevity and protect the original
finish.
DISCLAIMER AND LIABILITY LIMITS ON ALL
AIRBRUSHED SHIELDS
Airbrushed shields cut down vision and they
can be a risk! The perforated material cuts
down approximately 8-10% of your normal
vision. Rain will fill the holes completely
and eliminate vision totally if you become
caught in a rain storm of any type while
wearing a helmet with this type of shield.
We highly recommend getting a spare shield
to swap out for normal riding. The
airbrushed shields are actually for show use
only so be careful and use at your own risk!
AJR
AIRBRUSH ASSUMES NO RESPONSIBILITY!
THE USER
TAKES SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR DETERMINING
AND COMPLYING WITH ALL APPLICABLE
STANDARDS!!!
CLEARING OVER AIRBRUSH ARTWORK
We use
Molac airbrushing / pin striping lacquer
and Urethane basecoats on all our artwork
and strongly recommend Clear coating them
for durability and color hold out. These
paints are made to clear and will only show
there true beauty when cleared. I will try
and describe how I go about clearing my
artwork to help you achieve the same good
results.
First thing is cleaning
or prepping the piece you are clearing. DO
NOT use anything stronger than PPG DX330 for
cleaning the piece that has artwork on it
because any harsher chemicals will smear or
remove the artwork. The paper towel or
cloth must also be soft. I use bounty paper
towels because they do not scratch even the
lightest mist of airbrush work. The best
way to clean is to wipe on the 330 then wipe
it off with a dry towel. If you do not have
access to DX330 then I would use something
equivalent or weaker by contacting your
local Paint / Body shop supplier. Failure
to follow this simple step could result in a
totally ruined piece, believe me I learned
the hard way.
Now that you’re ready
to clear the only real important step here
is to make sure you lightly coat the artwork
area 1-2 times with clear letting it flash
(dry 5-10 minutes) in between. Then you can
go about clearing the piece as you normally
would any part. The reason for the real
light first coat or two is because clear
sometimes likes to fisheye on artwork for
some reason even if it’s cleaned well before
hand. Simply follow these steps and you’ll
have no problems at all. After the clear
dries for a day or so I normally wet sand
with 2500 and then buff it out using 2500
rpm wool buffing pads and 3M PERFECT it II
Compound. And then sponge buff to remove
swirls with FINESSE-IT II compound for a
true showroom finish. This is not really
necessary but rather a painter’s tool to
help bring out the Beauty of His / Her work.
Here is also a list of
Good compatible Clear Coats I have used with
great success.
- CROSSFIRE CLEAR
- PPG CLEAR COAT
– ALL
- DUPONT CLEAR
COAT – ALL
- RM CLEAR COAT –
ALL
- U-TECH CLEAR
COAT – ALL
- ANY BRAND
LACQUER CLEAR COAT
FEEL FREE TO EMAIL
ME AT:
info@extreme-decals.com with any
questions and I will try to answer them to
the best of my knowledge and experience.
Again, thank you for
your business and good luck! |
