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My two cents on painting a helmet

Im new to leather helmets however im experienced in leather i.e saddles and horse tack. Something has been bothering me over the debates on how to paint leather. I find nothing wrong with painting a shield however it makes me cringe when people talk about painting leather helmets. The problem with this is that leather needs to be oiled regularly to prevent it from drying out and becoming brittle. If your going to redo a helmet please please please dye the leather dont paint it.. I see in topics how guys cant remember hitting their head yet a chunk of leather is missing, it wouldnt take much to chip a good chunk off of a dried out leather helmet. When was the last time you broke a piece of leather off of your station boots? These helmets are a huge investment and the best way to keep your investment in good shape and have it last years is simple make sure its treated regularly with leather products such as "doc baileys leather treatment" nets foot oil etc. I know alot of you wont agree with this but it makes sence, I also was talking to my saddle maker earlier today and was discussing this with him and he just cringed at the thought of painting leather. My advice please dont do it. Although helmets are a big investment saddles are an even bigger one, when was the last time you ever saw a painted saddle? Good quality leather products such as conditioners and dies can be purchased at any saddle shop website some good ones i have found are valley vet, chicks saddlery, country supply, jeffers and horseloverz.com. Please make your investment last and dont paint it.

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Shawn Tibbitts on May 1, 2010 at 11:55pm

If you dont want to order it, you might be able to get it from a local sign shop, you will want to find one that still does hand lettering or pin striping though.

Shawn Tibbitts said:

You can find 1 shot at dickblick.com or www.artsuppliesonline.com , just to name two, or usually you can find it on e-bay as well.

Brad Hoff said:
I just bought some supplies last night at someplace called home depot but I should have gone to Lowes! It cost about 40 bucks for foam brushes, boiled linsed oil ($23, most exspensive item) PC Farenheit (for the cracking) since I couldn't find any PC-7. Looks like I will have to order the One Shot paint, only place is in Anchorage or I can get it from The Fire Store, anyone know any others?

Ben where did you acquire yours?

Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on May 2, 2010 at 12:39am

-Shawn, the painting of leather helmets dates back to the creation of the helmet and it is a way to protect the helmet as well as change the appearance.
-As to your suggestion of treating the leather with oils, salves or treatments, this is something that the manufacturer specifically says not to do. This will weaken the leather that has been specifically treated with a resin to make it as hard as wood during the manufacturing phase. Many years ago I had acquired a leather helmet and used a leather treatment on it to restore the leather of the helmet. I eventually ruined the helmet in so doing.
-My best advise is to say that though you have experience with leather, dealing with leather helmets is very different and unique to anything you may have experienced and I suggest following the manufacture's advise specifically and to the letter.
-Because the leather helmet has been treated with a resin that creates the consistency of wood, painting the helmet is appropriate and protects the helmet. Any doubts can be addressed by Cairns; they've been doing this for over 150 years.

Permalink Reply by Frozenhosehead on May 11, 2010 at 1:47am

Here are a few pics of my lid during the stripping proccess. I know it looks a bit hideous and inhumane but it had to be done. All the paint is off and is now down to bare leather. I have applied a few coats of boiled linseed oil since these were taken and I'll add a few more coats this week and post some pictures later.

Permalink Reply by Frozenhosehead on May 11, 2010 at 9:48pm

I would have loved to keep my helmet this plain leather color because it looks so natural and almost has a wood grain quality.

Here is the first coat on "One Shot" mixed 1 part paint 2 parts Linseed oil.

Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on June 18, 2010 at 8:59pm

-Brad it looks like the stripper softened up the leather, was that the case or did the leather remain hard?
-Last time I had to do this I followed the same procedure as Cairns and sanded prior to repainting. I'm interested in learning if the stripping is a better approach, especially around the stitching which is always harmed with sanding.
-My biggest concern would be the stripper causing the leather to soften in any way.

Permalink Reply by Michael Bricault (ret) on June 19, 2010 at 12:12pm

-Dave, I looked up the Citristrip stuff you have in the photos. Seems like a nice product to use for this work, not as aggressive as a chemical stripper. I will certainly consider it in the future.

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