Props Tutorial: How to fix a damaged prop (3d print)

[Worainu]

Yup the mark7 finally broke, Its not the first helmet I've had to repair but it is my first complete paint job that is. I'll post my progress and steps towards the repair here. More than likely this build will be retired after the repair but I wanna fix it regardless.

 

[Worainu]

Step one was to remove all the interior this includes all the Velcro, foam pads, visor, electronics if you have them (pretty much anything you don't want dirty). I plan on sanding the seams inside so I have a clean surface to plastic weld the cracks back together. I then use some masking tape to tape the cracks back together from the outside as I prepare to weld. I don't know if I'm going to need to sand down the outside as well yet but that may be needed.

 

[Worainu]

Step two was to sand the crack (100-400 grit) on the inside of the helmet. I then used a 3d pen and a soldering iron to re-weld the helmet along all the cracks I could make out. (note you don't want to dump a ton of heat into the helmet if you wish to preserve the exterior paintjob). I then peeled the tape holding the cracks closed off and lightly sanded (400grit) the paint side of the helmet before rinsing. This is all in preparation to use some gap filler primer and putty on the effected areas in step three.

 

[Worainu]

The next step in the process was to mask off the repair area(s) and use a combination of gapfiller(of you choice) and spray primer. I use acrylic putty and auto gapfiller but any method should work with this.

 

[Worainu]

After that you guessed it, we be sanding (the one job I'm totally ok with ai taking). I combination semiwet sanded from 400,600 to 1500. This isn't the smoothest finish you can get but its go enough for me as far as this job goes. As far as semiwet is concerned I wet my sandpaper and have a damp shop towel handy to wipe away any particulate buildup. The wet wipe dampens the surface as well which is nice. You'll inevitably knock out some of the initial paint job during this step, so you will want to mask out the details you want to keep.

 

[Worainu]

The next step is to throw down your colors again hopefully you keep tabs on what paint combos you use. For me its rustoleum black all the way to true navy. You'll wanna do this while retaining your mask. After your done painting you can remove your mask. You will find some harsh lines at the edge of the mask but that's not as big a deal as it looks. Just wait for it to fully dry and hit it with some higher grit sandpaper. You can also use your foundational colors to blend it out as well but be careful not to overspray on anything else.

 

[Worainu]

Final Step is to add your detailing/ weathering, this is entirely dependent on how you weather your kit. Congratulations she's good as new. (or better than new)

 

[zSmiley]

This is an extremely useful thread thank you for taking the time to make this!