I just thought I'd chime in and add my $.02. So, to date I have painted a total of 5 urethane rubber cowls/helmets, 2 being from Biggeek1972 and soon to be 3. I've tried a LOT of techniques, asked a ton of questions and read up on the subject anywhere I could. Mostly because my initial attempts at painting my Cap TFA helm were an utter disaster. So these are the products I use...
!)After cleaning the crap out of the item with warm water and dish soap, I wait until it's dry and then I hit it with a couple of coats of Duplicolor Adhesion Promoter (or acetone works just as well).
2)Then I prime with a can XIM Primer/sealer/bonder (it's a very gritty white spray paint, you can get it at Sherman Williams). I do a light, misting coat. Just enough to cover the whole thing but not enough to make it start to look white. This stuff is a superb primer, sticks to just about anything.
3)After that dries I brush off the helm with a clean shoe shine brush to get all the loose grit and particles off. Then I use Angelus acrylic paints through an air brush. They are sold as leather paints so they are very flexible and pretty durable. I thin them down with some matte acrylic finisher, water, and a little of the Angelus "Duller" to give it a very flat look. I get the paints and duller here...
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4)I then finish with a watered down Acrylic finisher/sealer. If you want a dirtied/weathered look you can add a few drops of flat black paint to make it a light black wash.
You can get a cheap Badger bare-bones airbrush at Michael's for like $25 (and every week they have a 40 or 50% off coupon). And then all you need is a can of propellant which is like $15.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
