Louis Gray says he was racially profiled after trying to buy spray paint to make over his son’s bicycle helmet

  • Paragone@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Spray-paint tends to be solvent-based, and spraying it onto a helmet can fundamentally compromise its structure/strength.

    Please don’t ever use solvent-based stuff on multi-layer plastic helmets, for sake of your brain, who needs that helmet to work properly, when one gets slammed into the asphalt/concrete.

    Please.

    • ifGoingToCrashDont@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      That’s not how helmets work. The outer shell certainly helps mitigate bumps and bangs, but what really protects your head is the styrofoam inner that compresses like an airbag upon impact.

      • Neato@ttrpg.network
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        9 months ago

        No it’s both. The outer shell deforms before breaking and then the foam absorbs the rest of the impact.

        • Hiccups2go@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Dude there are many different helmet designs, with both thick and thin plastic covers. In a practical day to day use case, the plastic shell is there for appearance as well as protection for the primary means to prevent damage to the foam core of the helmet. The foam is no good if it gets damaged the first time you accidentally drop it on the pavement.

          I’m sure it can play some role in protecting your head, but it’s main purpose is to keep the foam on your head on one piece in case of an accident.