My wife has a Bell Shorty helmet with the a matte finish that is about a year old. The matte finish has become very sticky. In hot weather it is even worse. If she sets it down it actually sticks to the surface. If she sets it down in the grass, her helmet looks like it needs to be mowed. Of course it is way out of any warranty period, but I was wondering 1) Has anybody else had this happen, and if so, what did you do about it? and 2) Is it worth it to have the matte finish removed and repainted in gloss?

 

It never hurts to try the mfg anyway. I had something happen with an Arai (you know how people ask what you get for the extra $$?). A piece fell off 2 years outside of the warranty. But it was a known issue and they replaced the piece for free and extended the warranty for two more years.

 

i have an outlaw helmet that is doing the same thing. i'm using the hd plastic scraper and goo gone to get rid of the rest of the finish. i don't even have to repaint, underneath it is glossy.

 

I know many helmet mfgs. have "stringent" rules regarding the cleaning "solvents" used on their helments....

Did you use Windex or some such thing to clean it that may have caused this condition??

Just a thought...

Regards,
Ken

 

I had a matte black Bell shorty, did the exact same thing. I scraped and sanded off the old finish, painted it with barbeque black paint, wore it for the rest of the summer and then threw it away.

 

Funny you mentioned this. A couple weeks ago a friend had a Bell matte black helmet (I think it was a Drifter) and he said the finish got all sticky and he laid it in the grass and grass got all stuck to it. He had to either scrape that finish off or mow it.

 

I had that on a Vox helmet. I scraped off the goo, then cleaned it with acetone. Works ok.

 

I also have a bell that is gooing out. I think I'll stretch some leather over it and call it good. Kurt

 

I had the same thing on my Bell. I went online, found their contact phone number and called. They had me select another color, shipped it to me, with a prepaid box to return my defective one. No receipt or anything to substantiate the age of the faulty one.