d.i.y.: customized helmet

Time for another super difficult and time consuming D.I.Y.…or not! This was simple and fun, and I didn't take many progress photos (and no completely final photos, oops!)

I had some cool orange reflective tape from fixing up my horse trailer, and it was just sitting there, bored! But you could do this with any outdoor vinyl from the craft store (just cut it into the strip width first.)

needed tools: helmet, colored tape/vinyl, scrap paper template, exacto knife, pencil

I took my helmet and then some scrap paper strips, and fitted them to the grooves/lines on the helmet. Each helmet will be different. I removed the visor for simplicity. One long strip will not work well, with the helmet curve I think you would get bubbles, etc. By cutting it into pieces it is easier to manage, and looks cool too.

Once I had my scrap paper template, I cut my reflective strips to match. I kept the paper backing on the tape for now. I made a couple small pencil marks on the helmet itself so I'd know where to line the tape up. Or wing it, whatever you're up for!

final colored pieces ready to stick

For the smaller pieces, I peeled off the whole backing and gently smoothed the tape to the helmet. The longer strip was a tiny bit harder, but I partially removed the paper backing to get it started, then pulled the paper out as I went along.

finished, shiny, orange!

Success! I got one small bubble that I really don't care about. I also spray-painted the tiny visor (orange of course) but forget to take that picture.

It is just for fun, though the reflective isn't a bad idea. It will probably peel off if needed, though I haven't tried it. Now what else can I stick some of that tape onto…?