Crystal Armor

Try it?

  • Go for it even if it turns out terrible, you gave it your best

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For the "prism effect" you could use KAMELEON™ KOLORS
http://www.tcpglobal.com/hokpaint/hokkameleon.aspx
"Kameleon Kolor is a revolutionary base coat that actually changes color depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Kameleon Kolor undergoes broad color changes, for example, from a medium green to a deep purple or from a bright gold to a luminous silver. The Kameleon Kolor base coat can appear to be different colors to people viewing the exact same area of the car from different angles. Rounded, curved surfaces and sharp angles will highlight the uniqueness of Kameleon Kolor. Kameleon Kolor base coats are easy to apply as our SHIMRIN® Designer Pearl base coat. Kameleon Kolor base coats must be top coated with either urethane enamel or acrylic lacquer."

Just a thought.

Its expensive. VERY expensive. Typically, with the tri-flop automotive paints, you're looking at $600-750 a quart. Thats without hardener, catalyst, thinner, etc.
you'd probably need about a pint to do a suit, maybe a little more, but you'd still be dropping around $350 for paint only. And you'd still need a clear coat to seal it in. I've worked with this stuff before, and even the tiniest scratches in the basecoat of triflop are impossible to get out. Since rattle can clears would cause a lifting effect (wrinkles and bubbles in the paint), you need to use a HOK clearcoat. Not too terribly expensive, but more cost on top of that.

Also, when a paint changes from one color to another, its a flop. multiple color changes result in the tri-flop name. Random facts I know.

And please, for the love of god and all things imaginary, please don't use a wagner power painter to paint anything. Every one I've used (and I think I'm up to 5 or 6 now) works great the first time around, and never works again after that. I've cleaned professional paint guns, and I can't get these damned things to work correctly afterwards. Not to mention that the spray is uneven as all hell. Not that big of a deal for a house, but with a tri-flop paint you need a nice even coat for the effect to work correctly. If you run the paint, the run will stand out like a big glowing drip against the rest of the armor. And the more light you add, the worse it gets (personal experience).

Also DO NOT, DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT!!!!!! Test it on foam (big pet peeve of mine). ALL Spray paints contain acid that eats foam and releases toxic gas.
There isn't a single finish coat of paint available to the general public that contains acid. In any shape or form. The toluene, CFC's, and acteone attack the plastic and dissolve it. The only toxic gasses being released are the ones that are already in the paint.

-my pet peeve. Sorry if I offend.

The paint you have should work okay, as long as you're careful about how you put it on. I think Spase and Sigma have done some painting tutorials specifically with bomb cans in mind, so check those out beforehand.

The only thing I'd tell you is alot of whats already covered in here and the various tutorials... Prime Prime Prime Prime. multiple layers of primer will seal everything, and a 400 grit sanding before you paint will give you a nice smooth surface to paint on. The smoother your helmet is before you start, the smoother it will be after you paint it.


Also, the color shifting effect will be cool, but I don't know if it's gonna do what you think it is. think more along the lines of this as opposed to the armor image that you posted earlier. I think it'll look damned cool, but its a question of whether or not you think it'll look cool.

This site isn't like the 501st. Its not about building the perfect set of armor, or where every suit needs to look as similar as possible to one canonical suit, or where everyone will nitpick all the imperfections to death. Its about building a suit that you like, and one that carries the spirit of what you enjoy of the game out into the real world. Personally, I think thats something the 501st has lost. Its no longer about the joy and pride of making something cool and enjoyable, its about how anal retentive you can be about the armor.
And frankly, thats ghey.
 
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I found this and thought about it. If I went with a prism effect color on the bottom and went over it in this, It might work out. Is this idea any better?
My goal is to stick out and be noticed in a crowd of spartans, and I do like the effect you mentioned Humungotron.
 
Bigalt424 said:
I found this and thought about it. If I went with a prism effect color on the bottom and went over it in this, It might work out. Is this idea any better?
My goal is to stick out and be noticed in a crowd of spartans, and I do like the effect you mentioned Humungotron.

In my personal opinion, any clearcoat you use over paint is a good idea. Its just another layer that a scratch in your paint has to go through before it hits the actual paint itself. and typically, most clearcoats are UV protective. Not that big of a deal for a suit of armor, but with a triflop paint (speaking solely about automotive paint - the rattlecan stuff you found might not need it, but hey. Better safe than sorry) UV fading is a big concern. Go look at any car that's been painted with a color shifting paint after a few years, and you'll know what I mean.

The stuff that they use to make the color shifting paint is the same stuff thats used on the new money as well, and its all made from leftovers from the window tint industry. -See? I'm full of useless information.

I think it'll look kick-ass in the long run, and it'll definitely stand out. The only thing I'd recommend (and this is personal preference speaking) is to use a pearl base, possibly a silver, so if there are any thin spots in your paint application, its not so noticeable. try this, but make sure you put on light, even coats, allowing plenty of drying time. I'd even wait a day between coats, but I can be anal retentive at times.
 
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