GoPro Mount Modification for Irregular Shaped Helmets Fox, Fly and Others.

Some helmets like the Fox V2 and The Fly F2 have irregular shapes on top which prevents the use of the GoPro helmet mounts. My Fox V2 for example has a peak running down the center of the helmet and neither the flat or round mounts fit.

The solution is simple. You press epoxy putty on the top of the helmet to take it's shape and stick the GoPro mount on the putty.

Tools needed:

• Epoxy putty.
• Sand paper 80, 120, and 180 grit if possible but if you have only one grit it will still work.
• Masking tape.
• A small piece of 3M VHB tape (part# 4991) like the one used in the GoPro mount.
• Some alcohol or other surface cleaner that doesn't leave any residues.
• Aerosol paint.

let's start.

Why Masking tape?

We will be sticking our finished mount on the helmet with the 3M Double sided VHB tape not the epoxy so that we can remove it in the future if we need to without ruining the helmet paint. So we'll lay down masking tape and form the putty to the shape of the helmet on top of that. When the putty hardens we'll be able to remove the hardened putty by peeling the masking tape off.

In this step:

• Lay down masking tape covering the area where you will be sticking the mount. Be generous, the putty is a bit messay.

• Remove the 3M double sided VHB tape from the GoPro helmet mount. Throw it away, it's not reusable.
• Rough sand the bottom of the mount with the 80 grit sand paper to make it stick better to the epoxy putty.
• Clean well with water and dry thoroughly to remove all the sanding dust.

• Clean the newly sanded mount base with alcohol to make sure it's ultra clean for best adhesion results with the epoxy putty.

• Wear the latex gloves and mix the putty very well.

• Stick the putty on the helmet/masking tape and stick the mount on top.
• Work the putty and press it under the mount to make sure it fills all gaps and extends all around the mount.
• Don't try to make it pretty now, we'll sand it pretty later.
• Let the putty fully cure according the manufacturers instructions.

In this image you'll see that I laid down two slightly overlapping strips of masking tape. This produced a slight ridge in the epoxy which I had to sand down. Try to avoid doing that.

• Peel the masking tape as much as you can from around the mount.
• Using a not so hard plastic tool pry very gently the mount from the helmet.

I wasn't very gentle and I cracked a small part but I was able to fix the problem later in step 6.

• With the 80 Grit sand paper slowly sand off the excess putty from the sides of the mount and make it pretty. Leave the bottom alone for now.
• If you want to make it look really good and plan to paint it in the end then sand the edges again with the finer sand paper: 120 grit then 180 grit.

The 3M VHB tape gives the best results on very smooth surfaces.

• Sand the new base with 120 grit sanding paper to make it smooth and remove all masking tape marks.
• Sand again with 180 grit sanding paper to remove the 120 Grit sanding marks.
• If you have 240 grit sand paper use it as well but it's not necessary.

Epoxy putty sands very easily and you can easily change the shape of the newly formed bottom. Sand a few strokes at a time and check the fit on the helmet.

Having said that the 3M VHB tape is a bit thick and conforms well to surfaces irregularities. If you over sand slightly it will still work.

Here I was able to fix my earlier mistake where I cracked a bit of the epoxy by sanding down the whole base to expose a good surface. This was time consuming though since I had to make sure I'm sanding the shape of the helmet back into the mount base. Don't make this mistake.

• Clean the mount.
• Paint it with the aerosol paint.
• Don't paint the smooth base with paint.

I painted mine with Matt Black paint since that's what I had. It got dirty very quickly and didn't look good. Use Gloss paint instead.

Do not spray a lot inside the top mount slots where the GoPro clip slides in. The paint build up might make it difficult to slide the clip in or prevent it from securely clicking in place

A better option might be to mask the original mount and paint the epoxy putty buildup only.

Another option is to use black epoxy putty and the color will be close enough.

• Clean the base of the mount with alcohol and give it a moment to evaporate.
• Stick the 3M VHB tape on the base. I had a narrow tape roll so I laid down 2 strips and trimmed the excess.

• Clean the mounting area of the helmet with alcohol.
• Stick the new mount on.
• 3M guidelines require some pressure on the VHB tape for best results. So I laid this peace of plywood on top of the mount overnight. (Read the 3M guidelines at the end of this tutorial for more info.)Tips:

To help me align the mount I laid a one peace masking tape on the center line of the helmet from front to back to use as a guide. I cut off the area where the mount will go. This made it easy to align the center channel of the mount with the center of the helmet market by the edge of the masking tape.

Hope you find this useful.

For maximum bond strength the surfaces need to be clean and dry. Thorough cleaning is best achieved with a 50:50 mixture of isopropyl (rubbing) alcohol and water (do not use other cleaners: Windex, 409, ArmorAll... they leave a residue). Ideal tape application is accomplished when temperature is between 70°F and 100°F (21°C and 38°C). Initial tape application to surfaces at temperatures below 50°F (10°C) is not recommended. Bond strength is dependent upon the amount of adhesive-to-surface contact developed. Firm application pressure develops better adhesive contact and helps improve bond strength. 15 pounds of direct pressure is what is recommended by 3M. Please us the square of cardboard provided to push up on your headliner panels because using just your hand may leave an impression in the headliner fabric.

Bond strength increases with time. If applied at 65- 70°F approximately 50% of the ultimate bond strength is achieved after 20 minutes, 90% after 24 hours, and 100% after 72 hours. Higher temperatures achieve ultimate bond strength quicker, so if it's 110°F outside it's okay to install your headliners. Just do so in the shade. It's not recommended put your Jeep in direct sunlight for at least 12 hours after installation if it's hotter than 85°F outside. With an outside temperature of 80°F the surface temperature of your black hard top is about 160°F when sitting in the sun.