How to Customize Goalie Equipment

Remove all hardware and straps from your helmet. It might require a screwdriver to remove the face mask, while others might just be snapped in place. Place all of these bits in a safe area where they won't get lost between the removal and the replacement.

Pull up any liner that sits within the helmet (without removing it completely) and tape underneath using your masking tape. If there are any rivets or riveted snaps, tape over those and carve off the excess with a utility knife. When it's time to spray the helmet, you'll be glad you covered these sections with tape, as over-spray can ruin a helmet.

Put on your respirator and begin gently sanding with 400 grit sandpaper to remove any of the "shine" that might exist, especially on a new helmet. If the helmet has been used in practice or a game, you might need to gently sand down any nicks or imperfections as well. The sanding will help the pain adhere better.

Using your clean white rag or t-shirt and rubbing alcohol, clean off your newly-sanded helmet to remove any oils.

Place your helmet on your stand and, while wearing your respirator, apply a base coat using the airbrush. The bottle of base coat should fit into the airbrush, and you can pull the trigger on the airbrush itself to apply the coat. Since it's just a base coat, you can practice with a varying amount of pressure on the trigger until you get the hang of it. This will allow any imperfections that might have shown up during the sanding process to be hidden and will give you a "blank canvas" to work with.

Decide what you want to paint on your helmet. Scott Noble, author of "Hockey for Weekend Warriors," suggests making your first helmet painting simple. To keep it simple, try one background color and then one single color design on top of that.

Choose and paint your background color first on the helmet. This is similar to painting the base coat, as you will place your can of background color into the airbrush and squeeze the trigger to apply your color. When the entire helmet helmet is covered, meaning you can no longer see any base coat, dry your helmet using a clean blow dryer (with no hair or lint on or inside). It should only take five minutes or so to dry your helmet.

Tape off your entire helmet using blue masking tape. It removes easier and cleaner than regular masking tape, so it's better to use on jobs like this. If you've got a steady hand, you can draw your design on the masking tape, then cut out your design with a utility knife. Be sure to use the standard blades and limit the amount of pressure you're applying.

Once your stencils are removed and the remainder of your helmet is still taped up, apply another layer of base coat to the newly-exposed sections. Dry with a hair dryer for a few minutes and apply whatever color you chose for the second design. Dry the second color with a hair dryer for a few minutes.

Gently remove all the blue masking tape and throw it away. Apply three layers of clear coat, allowing it to dry completely before your next coat. Noble suggests that less is more when it comes to applying clear coat. The more you apply, the shinier it looks, but when you get hit in the face with a hockey puck, it'll look more like shattered glass than shiny helmet.