Hey all, DarkSpectre here. I recently finished my ecto goggles. I am extremely pleased on how they turned out. Now the problem is that the paint is still extremely tacky. I painted them on Thursday morning. The thing that gets me is that I used the H20 primer. It dried fine on the rubber/vinyl that the goggles are made from. Then I used the Krylon Ultra Flat Black Camo paint. The can read that it was also Krylon Fusion. So any thoughts on what I can do to either speed up the drying process or remove the tackiness? Its kinda annoying to pick them up and still get paint on your hands and I would really hate to scrap them because they look really good.
Sometimes it just takes a long time for paint to set if it isn’t setting on the right surface. I painted some clear tubing for my RGB pack and it took about a week to set. Temp it was painted in and thinkness of coats have a major factor too…just give it time. Don’t try to force set it either then it might not ever set right.
I did primer, then the green, then Matte Clear that I had from previous use on gaffed card tricks…worked really well! I was sure it would be tacky but to this day, they have a smooth dull feel.
Norm’s plans mentions for the 3rd coat a clear flat DULL COAT. What I used is in the paint aisle(duh, it’s paint), I wanna say it’s pretty much the same thing? American Accents Clear Top Coat protective crystal clear finish. The barcode is 7902830 MATTE CLEAR. I can’t speak for everyone else but I really recommend it from my experience finishing my goggles with it!
Is it safe to paint the green welder goggles? I ask because the paint would seem to not hold very well. Anyways if anyone has had any luck with that, what kind of paint did you use, and what method did you go about?
I used Krylon out doors Olive Drab green spray paint and it held up longer than my actual goggles did. You can see pictures of it, poor ones mind you, here.
I’ve been perusing this site and the many wonderful tips it has to offer, for a few weeks now. I am putting together a GB costume for Halloween, so aside from my uniform, the Ecto goggles were the first project I tackled. I am essentially using the Norm Gagnon plans for something simple (and I know it isn’t scren accurate). I am adding my own personal touches, like a red LED and some other elements.
One of the first hurdles I realized I’d have to overcome, is the vinyl facemask of the goggles. Spraypaint doesn’t stick really well to it, as many of you probably already know. My solution was to use Vinyl Dye Spray, that can be found in an automotive store. It is specifically designed to adhere to plastic parts like bumpers and trim. You can also try a Krylon adhesion promoter, but I found that it dried too slowly for my tastes. Vinyl Dye drys quickly, and can be sparaypainted over with garden vareity spray paint. It will be a better solution, in my opinon, than just leaving it bare.
Anyway, my apologies if this has ben contributed already. I’ll post pics of my finished goggles soon.
Weird it has been quite common of a question lately. Not a big deal though. Most people I guess overlook Norm’s plans in Step 4 say to finish with a clear flat dull coat to eliminate the “stickies” as he calls it The bottom right corner that is. Mine haven’t peeled, flaked or been stick to this day.
Thats a remedy to a symptom, in my opinion. I read his instructions, and from my own experience, knew that the vinyl dye would be a better alternative. It has superior adhesion, and wont fleck off when scratched as spraypaint tends to do. The vinyl dye does seem to requre less in the way of covering also. It bonds better to the vinyl. When I was modding computers years ago, I used vinyl dye alot. It gave a more OEM look to the painted pieces as opposed to a gunky spraypaint job. Thats why I instantly thought of it when reading Norm’s recomendations about the dull coat.
Anyway, it’s usually only a few dollars more expensive than spray paint and a better product for the intended purpose.
hehe I too used to mod computers… maybe I know you from a previous life?
The main difference between Vinyl Dye and Spraypaint is that… well… one is Dye, the other is paint. In that, I mean that the paint will add a colored layer over the surface, while the Dye is intended to colour the material as in… “stain it” in some way.
Plastics, vinyl, etc Dye easily with this vinyl dye, and will not chip out.
I’m personally trying to find some black vinyl dye at the moment, and all auto parts seems to be out of stock Unless someone has another way to colour a grey rubber hose without the black fading and chipping away?
You’re right Mars…odd thing too, my local auto shop was out of black. I ended up getting charcoal grey, which is fine, because its going to be painted over anyway…
I’ll post pics of my non-screen accurate goggles this week.
I dunno why so many people have problems. Maybe depending on who makes the welding goggles its a different grade of rubber/vinyl.
I roughed up the surface with a sander, then primed a couple times, couple coats of the color (black in my case) and then a clear coat and it looks and feels great. No stickies.
If it’s sticky on the surface, then you have to wonder what kind of adhesion is going on on the other side. If covering the stickies works for you, thats great. I’m sure that roughing the surface works fine too, but all I offered was an alternative method.
For those of you that painted yours, how does the paint hold up if your welding goggles are soft? I’m afraid that the ends will bend in and the paint will crack and come off. Vinyl dye sounds expensive. My husband cringed at spending $12 for the welding goggles! :sigh:
maybe I know you from a previous life?
Unless someone has another way to colour a grey rubber hose without the black fading and chipping away?