[TheKevinShow]

These are available in-stock at Home Depot. Say I was attempting to go for both affordability and a unique look that wasn't quite screen accurate - since I want my costume to be mine, not a carbon copy - how well would those work?



I'm sure it wouldn't be that difficult to modify them to add a three-way strap over the head.

[Tyrael]

Those goggles are among the most common in "close enough" kinds of builds. I built some hardware store goggles myself with those exact ones and they worked great.

[TheKevinShow]

Awesome! Is there a parts list out there like the ones in the proton pack forum for what I'd need to add? Obviously I'd want to continue to scout around at HD to see if I can get more parts from there.

[Kingpin]

The only thing to be careful on would be the green material, which could either be rubber or a lightweight plastic, and thus might make it a bit trickier to get the paint to adhere to.

[TheKevinShow]

Yeah, I checked a pair of them at work and they are definitely rubber/lightweight plastic. Is there something I can put on there that would increase the chances of the paint adhering?

[Hammer]

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =12&t=7497

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =12&t=7554

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... 12&t=10264

http://www.gbfans.com/community/viewtop ... =2&t=32246


The magic of search. The search topic was sticky paint.

[crusader_x]

Those soft, flexible frame goggles are almost always made from vinyl, therefore conventional paints will no properly cure on them. The trick is to use paint designed for vinyl, which is usually found at automotive stores. The kind I use is Duplicolor's Vinyl and Fabric paint:

[TheKevinShow]

OK, so I think I've compiled my parts list, almost all of which are found in-stock at HD. Feel free to suggest anything you feel may work better. This is based off of Norm's plans.

• Brazing Goggles - the goggles themselves
• 3/4 in. Schedule 40 PVC Female Adapter or 3/4 in. Schedule 40 PVC Coupling (I'll use the latter if the next part doesn't screw correctly into the threading of the former) - the body of the left lens
• 3/4 in.Electrical Metallic Tube (EMT) Set-Screw Connectors - the cap of the left lens
• 1 in. Non-Metallic Female Adapter - the body of the right lens
• 1-1/4 in. Rigid Plastic Insulated Bushing - the base of both lenses
• 1-1/4 in. Birch Round Cabinet Knob - for a knob at the bottom of the goggles
• Round Edge 3/8 in. x 3/4 in. Pine Stop Moulding - for the blocks on the side of the goggles
• 1-1/4 in. Phillips Flat-Head Wood Screws - for attaching the blocks to the goggles

For paint, I'll be using Army Green Camouflage Spray Paint and Protective Enamel Satin Flat Black Spray Paint if they can be applied over a coat of the paint crusader_x suggested. If not, I'll consider other options. I don't know if spray paint will adhere well to the screw connectors. If it does, then I will use Metallic Silver Spray Paint because at least from what the pictures look like, they are somewhat dull and could be shinier.

For the knobs on the sides of the goggles, I'm working on tracking down a set of guitar amp knobs. Those should work perfectly. I'll also need an extra piece of web belt for the top part of the head strap.

Lastly, I'll need something to put on the outside to bond the wood blocks to the goggles. Loctite's epoxy putty should be just fine.

Did I miss anything? Is there anything that would work better for a budget build than what I've found?

[SpaceCoastGBs]

The paint may set correctly with the Camo paint , and I've used Rustoleum's Camo before and it has no sealer in it and is designed to have little-to-no reflectivity. It almost feels like dried powder. What is significant is that there is no sealer/finish in that paint.

You'll still end up with the sticky paint using any Enamel paints and any other spray with a sealer in it (satin or gloss paints, and I'd even stay away from matte) on top of the Duplicolor Spray. The Duplicolor paint works because it's essentially a tinted vinyl spray (vs acrylic or enamel). Applying spray paints on top of that is going to have the same problem as applying paint over the base.

Another option, but not recommended, is to use brush on acrylics or latex paints on top of the Duplicolor.

For the wood blocks, I wouldn't recommend only using Epoxy. The non-porous vinyl of the goggle frame makes it very difficult to bond anything to it. I'd recommend the epoxy as well as screws.

[TheKevinShow]

Yeah, I've already got the wood screws. They're recommended by Norm's plans.

[TheKevinShow]

Parts from HD and the first paint test.

The camo green paint already seems to be drying pretty well, but obviously it's too early to truly tell. I'll be switching out the flat black paint I bought for the camo black instead.

[TheKevinShow]

And here they are immediately after applying the first coat of paint. Letting them dry outside has definitely helped, as the paint is drying absurdly fast. It seems to be adhering just fine. Obviously I need to apply a second coat, though, to smooth things out. Otherwise, everything is proceeding normally.

[TheKevinShow]

Crap. I think I overpainted it and now the paint on the exterior is coming off in huge chunks. I don't know if I should just clean it off and start over or get another pair and start from the beginning.

The paint on the interior is just fine, though.

[TheKevinShow]

I painted too much too fast. The first pair of goggles is definitely a write-off. Whoops.

At least I got that screw-up out of the way before I attached anything to it. Time for take two.

[JoeLuna33]

Did you use any primer on them? You should be able to find a primer at HD for plastics. It will help the pain stick better. Also, next time do light coats. I can see in your pic that the paint was sprayed way to heavy. Its all a learning curve. Better to learn now than later

[TheKevinShow]

No, I assumed that it had primer included like other Rust-Oleum paints, which it doesn't, and fortunately the goggles aren't terribly expensive.

[SpaceCoastGBs]

Rustoleum's "Primer included" is more of a marketing slogan than an actuality. It just means the paint pigment is opaque.

[TheKevinShow]

Lovely. Hopefully the sanding works on take two.

[Ecto-1 fan]

I did almost the same thing. Vinyl goggles and Rustoleum paint. A week after painting, they were still tacky.

A search found that you can cover that tacky paint with Testors matte finish laquer. I did 2 light coats of that and I can touch the goggles without fear of fingerprints. It is not durable by any stretch of the imagination, but it doesn't feel like it's going to become permanently attached to your hair.

[TheKevinShow]

That's the Dull Cote, right?

[Ecto-1 fan]

Yes, that's what the cap said. #1260 small can (3 oz)

[SpaceCoastGBs]

If you use Dull Cote, while the paint won't be tacky to the touch, the paint will still be tacky underneath. Hard to describe, but if you slide your thumb across it, the paint underneath will smear off.

[TheKevinShow]

So, do I need the primer, then?

[crusader_x]

You're going to have a hard time finding the right combination of aerosol paint(s) and sealer(s) that are going to bond to those vinyl goggles. That's why I recommended the Duplicolor spray vinyl paint. Yes it is basically like spraying on a tinted layer of vinyl which is why it bonds so well to those vinyl goggles. Also vinyl decals adhere extremely well to it as opposed to regular sticker labels. The only restriction really is the colors: they are fairly limited. Brushing on acrylics does work really well for weathering, so you may try brushing on the color you want, in this case you'd want to try find an Olive Drab or something close. I'd put down a layer of the Duplicolor vinyl paint first, in black or maybe their dark gray as a primer, then brush on light layers of the acrylic and see if you can't build up layers to the color you want. But you're just wasting your time trying to get Rustoleum to bond to vinyl.

[TheKevinShow]

Got it. I'll see what I can find in acrylic then. I assume I need water-based, correct?

[crusader_x]

I should have added that what I used to weather the vinyl goggles I do, after putting down a layer of the Duplicolor in black or gray, is either Tamiya Acrylics and/or the bottles of acrylic you can find at Wal-Mart and Michaels that are very inexpensive with brands like Apple Barrel. Michaels has lots of different brands, some more expensive that others (like Martha Stewart), so they have a large array of colors. Since I use them for weathering I'm drybrushing them on, which is probably why the acrylic works on the vinyl. I would start just like that, using minimal paint almost like drybrushing, and build up the layers that way once the initial layer is dried to the vinyl.

[TheKevinShow]

Alright, so I've finally gotten a good moment set aside to start working on the second attempt at the goggles.

I sanded them down and now I've applied the base coat of the Dupli-Color gray. Fortunately, the weather is hot and dry right now so drying should be a bit faster.



On an unrelated note, as you can see, I've removed the actual flip-up part of the goggles. I know those aren't the same material as the body of the goggles but should I use the same painting technique (Dupli-Color + acrylic) or would spray paint work on that part?

[crusader_x]

On an unrelated note, as you can see, I've removed the actual flip-up part of the goggles. I know those aren't the same material as the body of the goggles but should I use the same painting technique (Dupli-Color + acrylic) or would spray paint work on that part?

In my experience, the flip up part is made of a plastic that will tolerate regular spray paint just fine, but I have also hit it with the Duplicolor vinyl paint and it worked too. I would recommend what you did: remove them. Then sand and prep them and use a plastic friendly spray paint like Krylon.

[TheKevinShow]

I'm downright impressed by how fast the Duplicolor dries. Of course, that could also be due to the Santa Ana weather.

For the body of the goggles, I'm using Behr Premium Plus Ultra Deep Base Flat. Would that also work for the lens if I use the Duplicolor?

[crusader_x]

I'm downright impressed by how fast the Duplicolor dries. Of course, that could also be due to the Santa Ana weather.

For the body of the goggles, I'm using Behr Premium Plus Ultra Deep Base Flat. Would that also work for the lens if I use the Duplicolor?

Not sure how well the vinyl spray paint would work on PVC. But you can use Krylon or Rustoleum on it, just be sure to sand it first. I wet sand my plastics/PVC with 320 or 400 grit sandpaper until it gets rid of the smooth surface and feels like it has texture so it will hold paint better. Krylon for plastic works very well on PVC. I'm assuming your lenses are made of PVC though... what are they made of?