So in my free time I love to do freelance design work… as if I don’t spend enough time in front of a computer as an engineer. Anyways I’m looking to start producing custom helmet sticker kits at the start of next year. The goal is to help racers add a splash of color to their lids in a fast turn around, DIY, and affordable way. Maybe this is an in between while you wait to get a killer paint job from someone like TJ or to experiment with designs in a less permanent way.
While I’m getting spooled up for production (outsource to a local shop or spend the cash on equipment) and a website I wanted to give back to the community that’s helped me out as I’ve gotten back into racing karts. I’d like to get some feedback on design, quality, and ease of installation. So in the following months I plan on giving out some sticker kits to members here. I’ve got a couple more elaborate designs being printed as showcase pieces, so I hope to have IRL pictures for everyone soon.
With all that said here are a couple mockups (there will be more small details & gradients in the final products) of some more simple designs for those with a DIY spirit. If there is interest it’s pretty easy for me to swap to the colors of your choice and maybe add a bit of personal flair (number, name, flag).
Stay tuned for when the first samples arrive. Thanks y’all!
Good stuff, I think this is a great budget friendly option.
I think I’ve hinted at it before but I will be offering this next year as well, as I bought a printer last year and finally have templates and materials dialed in. I’m currently working on my first helmet kit for a client. Full announcement and pricing will be coming at the end of the year.
Just so when I start posting them no one thinks I stole anyone’s idea!
Sweet! More the merrier! I’d love to get back into painting helmets, but it’s just not in the cards right now. So this just seems like a better way to have some fun making cool stuff. Can’t wait to see what you come up with as well!
I’ve played around with full wraps and while I got it to work it was not a fun experience. Requires more skill, tools, and patience than I’d think the average person wants to mess with. These would be partial wraps in 3 to 5 pieces max that the customer should be able to install and not have to take to a professional. So your helmet color will show through.
Timing willing I’ll have some more designs up this weekend for people to choose from. While I have yet to set pricing I think sub $100 is a decent price point. I’d love to get closer to $50, but I don’t want to sacrifice quality.
Maybe it’s a bit easier now with modern materials, but doing it a couple years ago was a nightmare. That’s cool you’ve already gone all in. I’ve been researching printers and I can’t believe the cost of those alone! I’ll stick with using a local guy for printing services for now.
I wanted a printer for other things like visor decals, the little branding decals I do on helmets, and sometimes on these tight turnaround jobs for the Indy or IMSA guys, I need to do a decal for sponsor logos when I don’t have time to paint them. Figure I should try and get as much use out of this thing considering how much it cost.
This makes me happy. The kiddo wants a custom helmet. But I can’t bring myself to spend that on something that might get outgrown in 6 months. The helmets are already stupid expensive.
I’m working on refining the ones I posted originally plus additional designs. The goal now it to nail down one or two designs to test run them and find a supplier that can print in quality chromes/metallics.
Clayton, those look really good! I’m sure you’re going to find a lot of folks being interested. When I was looking to customize my helmet, I only found one outfit, Harris Decals, offering vinyl decals for helmets like this. They had dozens of designs, and all colors are customizable. Their sets are about $50. I totally agree that vinyl pieces are going to be way easier than a full wrap. Even pieces can be challenging to apply to curved surfaces.
wasn’t happy with the colors last night.