Dredd Helmet Paint Help

I painted my helmet yesterday with satin red and satin black, but it feels too shiny for me, can anyone give me the best pointers of dulling it down without having to repaint it. Since tomorrow is halloween, i dont have the time for it. Also I see alot of people post they use wire wool? If so what kind... im kinda lost in that area. Thanks!

Go to Home Depot or any hardware store and buy a bag of steel wool. I have this one.
http://http://t.homedepot.com/p/Homax-4-0-12-Pad-Steel-Wool-Super-Fine-Grade-10120000/100212006/

Yup, using fine steel wool is where it's at.

Some areas I worked it harder to look more weathered, some spots just lightly hit it and done.

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll be going to home depot after work!!

Let us know how it went.

Posting an 'after steel wool' picture would be great! Happy Halloween!

Sorry I didn't see this sooner. The actual helmets in the movie were gloss paint, not satin, so they were even shinier than what you had. They didn't do a lot to dull them down either, save for a bit of black paint dabbed on for weathering in spots (there weren't even any paint washes that I could see on the original helmets, except for Lex's) and some fullers earth.
Rub a very fine dust like fullers earth all over your helmet and you'll see that it cuts the shine down a LOT. And it tends to stay dull unless you wash it off. Kind of like a shiny new car that hasn't had a wash in a long time.

xsilentkx said:

Thanks for the quick replies! I'll be going to home depot after work!!

Click to expand...

I know there are at least two schools of thought on this issue. Although I'm sure Max is right on the actual prop finish, the perception of the helmet when looking at many stills from the film is that the finish is less than high gloss. I don't know about you, but I am going for the "perception of reality", meaning, I'm not trying for perfection just what looks correct to the eye. Let's face it, a few members can afford total reality in their costume. They have Leather Next gloves that they modded to hero status, had custom leathers made,have a helmet cast from a movie prop, spot on armor and vest, leather belt gear, etc., etc.. I'd hazard a guess that most don't have exact boots and only a few have a "close approximation" of the collar. Fewer still have the physique or looks of a Judge. So even the most avid replica fanatic is only close. My advice is to decide which you are, right from the start. Movie lighting often plays tricks with our perceptions and since we may not want to douse our costumes in fullers earth or have an advantage of stage lighting at conventions, I've chosen to have a decent, if not perfect look......my budget is happier and so is my mental state. There are a few scenes in the movie where you could go either way on your helmet finish. There is so much fake cement dust in a couple shots...does it really matter either way. I sometimes wish we could label our thread with a scale of 1 to 10 on how rabid we are about our project, it might save a lot of angst. No disrespect to Max, meant, but the majority of costumes I've seen look fine, if not exact.

I rubbed some graphite dust (sanded a graphite pencil) all over mine, and gave it a coat of matt lacquer afterwards. It darkerned the red in places, and gave the whole lot a dulled finish which looks great.

Thanks for the info everyone! I ended up happy with the result of the steel wool, i think what was bothering me, was how bright the red was... but the wool def. toned it down! As far as the results go i posted some pics on a separate thread: http://www.therpf.com/f71/halloween-dredd-3d-costume-pic-heavy-199102/

I may decide to repaint the helmet, if I do i will surely use all the advice thats been given! Making these helmets can be a pain in the ass, but if you stick with it, and actually complete it... its so worth the effort and time! I can easily see how cosplay can get so addicting! Im already trying to think of what to make next!

Having fun is the first priority. Everything else will take care of itself.:lol