Breathing Again: Learning from my mistakes

HOWDY, CAMPERS.

I would like to reinforce how pleased I am that I found locally supplied EVA foam (harbor freight foam mats). It's holding its shape very well. In fact, I'm thinking I may need to get some forms to shape my pieces on top of. The big curves are hard to shape by hand. BUT I am really pleased with this material.

So after Tuesday's brief update about never putting primer on Plasti Dip, I have re-done the plastic coating and begun painting.

You may notice that the spray can featured in this photo is not, in fact, Plasti Dip. This is Rustoleum Peel Coat (which is the Rustoleum version of Plasti Dip). I prefer Plasti Dip for the following reasons: Plasti Dip gives a thicker coat when you spray it. It also has a more directionally focused spray that I feel is easier to control. The Rustoleum spray is more fine, less directionally focused, and gives a more watery coat that does not cover as completely as Plasti Dip.

Another thing to note is that all of the mistakes and damage I've done have made this helmet look a little...worn out to say the least. Peeling the Plasti Dip took off some of the PVA coating. I didn't replace it because I'm curious to see how the end product looks with and without the PVA coat. I'm also looking forward to weathering this helmet like crazy. I will add some battle damage and practice different weathering ideas just to see what looks good.

And then there was PAINT!

I chose a shimmery finish for my silver paint, and I'm still not sure if it was the right choice. We will see once I get the red paint on how it looks.

I'm looking forward to another update.