Having a bodyshop spray it is the fastest and easiest way. but if you are a do-it-yourselfer, and if you plan to paint it yourself, use enamels. Or even an automotive urethanes with an airbrush. If you have no airbrush, keep reading anyway.
If you are using a one-stage paint.... (color with no clear coat)....
To start, sand it with some 800 grit paper. Spray it with at least 3 nice coats. Go easy on the first coat, then hit the last 2 coats wet. Wait 10 mins between coats. Don't bother spraying a thinner coat on or over your last coat. It doesn't do much better and only activates your last coat after it has started to dry and gas out. Once it has dried for at least a week, buff it out. Scroll to the bottom for that.
If you are using a 2-stage paint.. base coat/clear coat.
Sand wiht 800 grit paper, you can leave it with the color black the helmet comes, but for a better look and shine, spray with 2 coats of black base coat. Allowing 10 mins to dry between coats.
After your last coat, wait about 30 mins then clear. Spray 3 coats of clear allowing about 10-15 mins between coats. Let it dry for at least a week. Then buff.
To buff, wet sand it with 1000 grit paper then move to 1200 grit. Polish it with Meguiers Mirror Glaze #85 Diamond Cut compound or an equl to it by another brand. Then follow that up with the Meguiers Mirror Glaze #9 Swirl Remover. After that you can keep it looking that way with Meguiers #7 Show Car Glaze.
You can get this stuff at any body shop or automotive paint supply center. If you don't want to use Meguirs, you can use an equal product. But that is just what I use. The polishs are going to cost you about $40 for the 3. But you can use it on ANYTHING with paint including your car. And it will shine like glass. Even if you get trash in your paint, you can sand it out with the 1000 grit.
this method will even work for paint jobs sprayed from the can.
As far as using Krylon Fusion, the paint is not what it is cracked up to be and is just plain junk with no long term durability. For the best results, for low cost, use Krylon gloss black. After you paint it with that, sand it, and clear that with automotive clear. You can go to most autopaint supply stores and get clear put into a spray can for about $12 a can. Use that. It will BLOW Krylon or any spray paint clear coat. or you can skip the Krylon black to and get them to put black basecoat into a spray can or even one-stage gloss black. Tell them what you want to do, they will be able to help you and know EXACTLY what you need. After all, look at the money you are putting into your suit to get the right look, make it shine AND last like it should.
