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By Goonie
#401812
Need help figuring out how to strip the horrid factory paint job from a Kali Prana helmet. Painting over it is not an option since that will add weight to an already heavy lid.

Hockey mates warn against nail polish remover since it dissolves/weakens the hard helmet shell.

Any advice from others who also don't appreciate putting the visual equivalent of a bad heavy metal song on their head?

Thanks.
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By Dave Jacob
#401814
I would all together avoid chemical strippers unless you know exactly what you are working with. A little good old fashion hand sanding with various grits should do the trick. While not a requirement, you can make it easier by picking up a soft 3m sanding block.
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By red
#401819
Dave Jacob wrote: Mon Jan 01, 2018 2:51 pmI would all together avoid chemical strippers unless you know exactly what you are working with. A little good old fashion hand sanding with various grits should do the trick. While not a requirement, you can make it easier by picking up a soft 3m sanding block.
Goonie,

I agree with you about those Kali paint jobs, and with Dave about the sandpaper. Solvents might compromise the shell, or the inner linings. Sanding the old paint off would be my choice, definitely. You can stop with the sandpaper at any time, but solvents may keep going where you do not want that happening.

You will remove the weight of the old paint, before you apply new paint, so it all balances out to about "no change" that way.

Best wishes.
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By dbotos
#401820
Another vote for sanding. I'd say do it dry and periodically blow off the helmet and your sandpaper with compressed air. If you don't have a compressor, a leaf blower could work (just make sure the helmet is secure so you don't blow it off the table and onto the ground). Remove all pads and possibly vents and trim (depending on how well they're secured/glued). Kali may have advice on removing the latter since they know how they're held in/on there (could save the hassle/cost of trying to get replacement pieces).

I would start with finer grit than you think you need. Deep scratches from a coarser grit could take more time to remove than the additional time spent with a finer grit. Using some sort of powered sander would be tempting, but could lead to (1) removing more than you want to and (2) heat build-up that could compromise the shell and/or underlying foam.

David
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By remmoore
#401821
Like virtually all helmet manufacturers these days, Kali uses the equivalent of "appliques" to apply the graphics to their helmets. I can't think of the actual name of the appliqué process but it goes on after the paint, and before the clear-coat. Kali isn't the only helmet manufacturer to use wild graphics, and I've seen far worse from other companies. Apparently, other helmet-wearing sport enthusiasts like bold graphics - and they're the much larger portion of the market. Frankly, I've always figured out a new paint scheme that covers any objectionable graphics, and didn't bother trying to remove anything. The weight of paint on a helmet barely measureable - I know because I've used a postage meter to measure it. If I were you, I would simply do a light sanding to give the new paint some traction, and apply your new color.

Some advice - seal all vent holes, and certainly the head opening before painting. Spray-can ingredients will eat the foam which is supposed to protect your head.

BTW, you don't say which Kali helmet you bought, but they make several helmets with no graphics, or relatively tame versions. Here are a few, including my Shiva, (first one on the left) which has only carbon fiber - sexy!
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Kali-helmets-2014-Shiva-road-helmet-gloves20140130_0765.jpg (637.13 KiB) Viewed 2050 times
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By remmoore
#401826
Here's a before and after of my Prana, showing how I tamed the graphics into something I think is pretty appealing. In the before photo, you can see the edge of the graphics applique, slightly overlapping the recessed nut flange. I chose to go with a simple gloss-white paint over the zany graphic, but left the carbon fiber and silver stripes exposed.
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Kali Prana No Visor.jpg (1000.76 KiB) Viewed 2024 times
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Kali Prana Finished 3.jpg (511.31 KiB) Viewed 2024 times