Need Help with Darth Vader Helmet

[IzzyMel]

Hey Guys,

Disaster struck. My Fiber Glass Darth Vader Helmet fell off my shelf and cracked the dome. The Maker is Unknown. I bought DV Helmet from Collectors gallery over 7yrs ago. I tried to repair the helmet with little success. I have several questions. What do you use to fis the crack? What type of sand paper should I use to sand off the paint? What type primer would you use? & finally what type of Spray paint would you use? I would appreciate any help you guy's can give. Thanks

 

[darthgordon]

Is it cracked all the way through?

 

[IzzyMel]

Is it cracked all the way through?

Yes,

I took it to a friend who help me. We used some fiber glass to repair it from the inside of the helmet. I didn't know what to use on the outside of the Helmet. :confused What do you recommend? Thanks

 

[Skor]

fine grain sandpaper (like 1000 grit), whilst wet (plenty of water) to take it back to the fibreglass.

Then an ultra-fine automotive body filler, gently pushed into the damage and smoothed over with a spatula.

Then more 1000 grit, whilst wet on the dry filler, then switch to 1200, then 1600, all with plenty of water.

When you can no longer feel the filler or bumps with your finger, just go over the entire dome with the fine grit paper, as you'll want to respray the entire thing, you don;t have to remove the old paint, just provide a good surface for the respray.

I'd personally then prime with a decent quality automotive primer, in short dusting layers, in a nice heated workshop, leaving 2 minutes between layers being careful to never let the paint build up too high - you don't want any drips.

After that's nice and dry (a day at least) you can then dust coat with your black top coat and then build up some very nice black layers with some patience and a steady hand. many many thin layers are better than just attacking it and trying to do a thick layer that'll just run.

You could then do a clear-coat if you wanted but I'd recommend just doing as many black layers as you can stomach and then gently polish it to a shine about a week after spraying, after the paint is nice and hard

 

[sskunky]

I've restored two cracked fiberglass DV helmet domes recently and the best thing to do is open the cracks right up into V channels with a dremel. I know it sounds scary but once you get started it will make sence and the fear should wear off.
If you don't open up the cracks they will just keep cracking and show through the finished paint.
Once you've opened up all the cracks you can fill them with body filler or resin and sand smooth until you get a desired finish then carry on as Skor said.
Do a search for VM02 restoration and you'll see what I mean.

 

[IzzyMel]

fine grain sandpaper (like 1000 grit), whilst wet (plenty of water) to take it back to the fibreglass.

Then an ultra-fine automotive body filler, gently pushed into the damage and smoothed over with a spatula.

Then more 1000 grit, whilst wet on the dry filler, then switch to 1200, then 1600, all with plenty of water.

When you can no longer feel the filler or bumps with your finger, just go over the entire dome with the fine grit paper, as you'll want to respray the entire thing, you don;t have to remove the old paint, just provide a good surface for the respray.

I'd personally then prime with a decent quality automotive primer, in short dusting layers, in a nice heated workshop, leaving 2 minutes between layers being careful to never let the paint build up too high - you don't want any drips.

After that's nice and dry (a day at least) you can then dust coat with your black top coat and then build up some very nice black layers with some patience and a steady hand. many many thin layers are better than just attacking it and trying to do a thick layer that'll just run.

You could then do a clear-coat if you wanted but I'd recommend just doing as many black layers as you can stomach and then gently polish it to a shine about a week after spraying, after the paint is nice and hard

Did you get the Sand paper from an automotive store or general hardware store to wet sand the Dome?

 

[Skor]

Hardware stores should all carry the paper. The numbers would be on the backof the sheet. the 1000+ sandpapers will feel almost soft and not very sandpapery at all when you handle them!

 

[sskunky]

Trust me if you don't open up the cracks and fill them they will keep on going. The slightest flex of the dome and they'll reappear.

 

[Skor]

Trust me if you don't open up the cracks and fill them they will keep on going. The slightest flex of the dome and they'll reappear.

Just like in aviation, if there's a crack, it will only get larger if the surface flexes, so you have to get rid of the cracks. Sskunky's got the right idea, I overlooked the fact they're cracks and treated them as it they were holes or flaws.

You have to remove the cracks entirely before you do anything else. The crack is too fine to drill holes into the ends of (like with aircraft repair) so make sure you dremel the cracks to prevent them growing further.

 

[IzzyMel]

Trust me if you don't open up the cracks and fill them they will keep on going. The slightest flex of the dome and they'll reappear.

When you used the dremel, did you open the crack up through the other side of the dome or did you widen the crack without passing through the other side of the dome? Thanks for your helps..

 

[sskunky]

You not need to dremel right through just through the top gel coat. If you have reinforced the inside with Fiberglass then that should be sufficient.

 

[sskunky]

Here you go
http://www.therpf.com/f9/damaged-vm...tion-wip-nearly-finished-pics-page-5-a-81425/

http://www.therpf.com/f9/vm02-restoration-complete-83587/

 

[Skor]

Here you go
http://www.therpf.com/f9/damaged-vm...tion-wip-nearly-finished-pics-page-5-a-81425/

http://www.therpf.com/f9/vm02-restoration-complete-83587/

Excellent guide! You did a great job on that vm02!

I've got a similar job ahead of me with some Vader armour and shoulder bells, I'll be sure to use that technique, it's much less invasive than my usual automotive styled repairs.

 

[IzzyMel]

Here you go
http://www.therpf.com/f9/damaged-vm...tion-wip-nearly-finished-pics-page-5-a-81425/

http://www.therpf.com/f9/vm02-restoration-complete-83587/

Thanks for the Link.

 

[sskunky]

No worries. I hope it helps.