Custom Nerd-Core Jacket

Well, I talked about it for a bit, and it's finished now. I wanted to add some additional color to my otherwise all-black motorcycle jacket but wanted a theme to base it off of that would be within the scope of my rather limited artistic ability. I went for a Mass Effect N7 armor theme.

For those other gaming nerds, the stripe is on the "wrong" sleeve. I did this on purpose because my left arm will be a lot more visible to motorists and if I use it for hand signals and such. This is meant to be a fully functional motorcycle jacket, albeit with a gaming theme, and not a piece of cosplay.

Here is my final result:

The color is all Jacquard NeOpacque acrylic paints which are high quality and supposed to be good for textile surfaces.

The white elements have all been reflectivised with retro-reflective glass beads. This was the hardest part of the process and I'm not sure how well they will actually be in the long run. I applied them by sprinkling them on top of the last layer of paint while it was still wet. This worked better on the back than the sleeve partly because I figured out what I was doing a bit better and laid the paint on thicker, and partly because the surface of the back panel is different. The white is just opaque gloss because the glass beads give a frosty-looking finish to the surface they are applied to. On the white it just makes it look raised and texturized, but it makes the red look funny.

The two surfaces on the jacket each presented their own problems. The sleeve was really really slick. To mask down the stripes I used tape. Blue painters tape wouldn't stick. Black electrical tape wouldn't stick. I had to use duct tape, and even that didn't stay on well. The back is a tight mesh. This was fairly easy to apply paint to, but it soaked all the way through the jacket. I suspected this might be the case, so took out all the liners and armor pads.

We will see what sort of longevity this paint is. I suspect the reflective beads will slowly rub off. I may need to apply some sort of clear coat over the top if I want to seal them in. That will remain to be seen though.

nice work. I'll be interested to see how the beads hold up on a flexible surface like a garment

I'd make fun of you, but enjoy my N7 hat too much.
Cool!

I'd almost buy a motorcycle to just wear that. Well done!

JoeyM wrote: nice work. I'll be interested to see how the beads hold up on a flexible surface like a garment

That is my biggest question too. If they don't stay too well the way they're attached, my plan is to just rub the rest of them loose (which should be easy if they end up just falling off), and then mixing more beads in to some clear coat and applying them over the white elements.

If I had it to do over again, I would purchase fine beads. The ones I got were the middle size from the outfit, and have about the consistency of coarse sand. They have a fine size which is supposed to be about the consistency fine sand or coarse flour. Those would probably have been better.

Very cool!

Nice! If the retroreflective stuff wears off, you can get fabric that already has that stuff in it somehow, it's common on backpacks and kids' shoes.

That's cool.

GameboyRMH wrote: Nice! If the retroreflective stuff wears off, you can get fabric that already has that stuff in it somehow, it's common on backpacks and kids' shoes.

I looked at those. They are all either sew-on or iron-on. Sew on wouldn't work, because the jacket has multiple layers that I would have to sew through, and would require me taking it apart to get the seams in. Iron-on would possibly be doable, but too easy to get permanently crooked, especially on something like a sleeve which is tailored with a bend.

I figure, worst case scenario of the reflectives falling off and not being having a good way to keep more on, the jacket still has a lot more color, visibility, and style than it did before.