Section 2: Visor
Regardless of what visor you have, the process is still the same! We will go over how to take your clear rough cut visor to a refined tinted masterpiece!
Materials/Tools you will need:
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14 Liter Pot (or bigger i.e. you need a really big stock pot)
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Long Mixing Spoon
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Thermostat (Digital is recommended) Do not use a laser thermometer!! They are not accurate enough for this.
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5 Gallon Bucket
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Towel X2
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Idye Polyester Dye: Black
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Tin Snips/ Strong Scissors
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Magnets, 6x2 mm
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Super glue GEL
Optional( but recommended):
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Aluminum Foil
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Long Mixing Spoon (extra)
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Wire/ String
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Binder Clips X2
Cutting
Cutting your visor can be done before or after you tint. It's entirely up to you.
Step 1:
Before you cut anything grab your helmet and place magnets on top of the magnets in the frame. Then do a fit check to see where you need to trim. It is important you do your fit check with the extra magnets on the frame to account for those magnets being attached to the visor later in the process.
Step 2:
Using tin snips or strong scissors start to make small cuts/trims of your visor doing frequent fit checks. Take a little at a time so you do not over cut and make your visor too short.
If you do cut one area just a little short or not 100% in line the black we painted on the magnet lip and jaw plate will help blend in or hide that flaw if it has happened.
EXTRA TIPS
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When cutting do small little bites keep things snug inside your cutting tool of choice. This will help keep your line and not make sharp “hangnails”
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If you use tin ships and you do not like the small nibbles left behind you can use sandpaper to smooth those out if you wish
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The corners of the visor can be a little sharp! Rounding out or doing a light snip of the sharp corners can be done to prevent any snagging or poking when handling the visor
Tinting
!! IMPORTANT !!
Once you have used the pot and any other items such as the mixing spoon and thermometer for tinting you CAN NOT use it for food!
Step 1 (optional):
Begin with prepping your area. If you are going to be tinting in your home kitchen please use some aluminum foil to cover the area around your stove top as the dye could stain your stove top. Some aluminum foil on the front of your oven to protect from any drips when removing your visor would be recommended as well.
Step 2:
Setting up your pot, filling it with hot water. If you have gotten a 14 Liter pot you will want to fill it all the way to the top leaving about a ¼ from the lip of the pot to fully submerge your visor but not spill your pot when moving it to the stove top. Once full, place it on your burner and begin heating the water. While you are heating up your water, lay a towel on the ground in front of your stove and grab your 5 gallon bucket. You will fill this buck about ¾ full with cold water and then place it on the towel by the stove.
Place your second towel on a counter or side table as this is where you will place your visor to dry once completed.
Step 3 (optional but highly recommended):
Grab your extra mixing spoon, wire/string, and binder clips. Here we are going to make a holder for your visor so it is not resting on the bottom of the pot. We do not want the visor resting on the bottom closest to the heat source as it could warp your visor. You will attach the binder clips to your spoon with the wire or string giving you a holder similar to this:
You will clip your visors on the bottom corners and suspend it in your pot.
If you do not wish to make a holder be sure to move your visor around frequently in the pot during step 8
Step 4:
With your area set up and your pot heating it is time to grab your IDye packet, thermostat, and mixing spoon. Check the temp of the water. Once you are at 145- 150F turn your burner to the lowest setting. Open your IDye packet and pour in the powder packet first. Mix this powder in VERY THOROUGHLY, this may take a couple minutes to do. It is important that the powder is fully dissolved, or you will have granules on your visor.
Step 5 (Optional):
In your IDye packet you will see a color intensor. You are not required to add this however it does affect the final color of your tint.
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If you DO NOT add the color intensor your visor will have a reddish undertone color
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If your DO add the color intensor your visor will have a bluish-purple undertone color (FurBitten Studios uses the color intensor in their visors)
Give your pot another thorough mixing.
Step 6:
With your pot of liquid death all ready to go grab your clear visor, but before you dip it into your pot please ensure you have removed the protective film from both sides of your visor
Failure to do so will result in your visor NOT tinting
Step 7:
Check your pot temp again. If you are above 150F turn off your burner and let it cool to 135-142F. Putting in your visor at a temp higher than 150F WILL warp your visor. The ideal tint temp for a visor from FurBitten is 143-147F. Regularly check your temp as you tint to hold that temperature range turning on and off your burner as needed.
Step 8:
Now that your pot is at the ideal temperature you can clip your visor (if you made the holder from step 3) and submerge your visor. Set a timer for 15 mins.
Step 9:
After 15 mins pull your visor from your pot and place it in your 5-gallon buck of cold water for 5 mins. This cools the visor and helps seals in the tint.
Step 10:
Repeat steps 8 and 9 two more times. This will give you a nicely tinted visor that's not too dark but also not to light. If your pot gets too cold during a round of tinting, you may need to do an additional round. You may repeat this as many times as you would like if you wish to have a super dark visor, however this is not recommended as you will struggle to see indoors. Your visor may seem a bit light when holding it up but remember that this will be going on your helmet where light will not be coming through the visor from all sides.
Step 11:
With your visor now tinted, you can use a paper towel to dry it off and/or set on your second towel to fully dry.
Step 12:
After it is fully dry you may clean the visor with some general window cleaner and a paper towel. This will clean off any tint residue if any remains.
IF you have any visor warping from tinting you can correct it carefully with a heat gun.
Attaching
The last step for your visor is to get it attached to your helmet! Here you will need some extra magnets and your super glue gel.
"Why super glue gel specifically?"
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It is very important that you use a super glue gel here and not normal liquid super glue. Liquid super glue is going to run and make a mess! The gel though it dried a bit slower will stay in place as we get your visor lined up.
Step 1:
Do your final fit check! Make any last-minute cuts now.
Step 2:
Lay out 9 stacks of magnets. These are going to be used to hold the visor in place as the glue dries. I recommend stacks of at least 2 magnets.
Step 3:
Apply a small dab of super glue gel to the magnets still on your helmet. The magnets that are not IN your frame but ON your frame for the visor that you have been test fitting with.
Step 4:
Grab your visor and place it on your frame. Try to directly place it and not slide it so the glue does not smear. While holding the visor with one hand begin placing your stacks of magnets around your visor. Once you have all the magnets stacks on your visor will be held in place while the glue sets.
Step 5:
After about 30 mins or more, you may remove the outer magnets and pull your visor off. If you find a magnet that didn't quite stick you can manually glue it to your visor as there will be a glue spot left on your visor from where it tried to grab. Make sure you glue the magnet on the correct side to keep the polarities correct.
If you would like to add a little glue around the edges of your magnets on your visor for added grip you may. But only do a few at a time so the super glue gel will not run. Be sure you turn your visor on the side you're wanting to add the extra glue to. Be sure to allow the gel to fully dry before putting it back on your helmet. Failure to do so could lead to that extra glue grabbing your helmet frame and could be permanently stuck on or cause damage in trying to remove.
Your visor is now tinted, trimmed, and magnetically attached to your helmet! Great Job!