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Helmets restoration advice needed


blademan
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Hello

 

About 25 years ago a buddy of mine gave me my first m1 helmet. The helmet has intrigued me since then and have always wanted to restore it,

 

The helmet lid is id'd to a WWII 2nd division soldier. The lid is painted in KW semigloss green. Under this paint I can see the outline of a 2nd ID shield on the upper front of the lid. The cork was scraped away and the shield painted on.

 

I would like some recommendation on how I can take off the KW paint and leave the original paint and more importantly revieal the original paint on the 2nd ID shield.

 

Thanks for your insight.

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acetone is a good option. it will take you a longtime but you wont take off any more than you want. you want to go slow. some members also use goof off which i've heard is a bit harsher

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Lucky 7th Armored

I remember reading in the past that to reveal the insignia one should use q-tips and a very conservative amount of the product of your choice along with a lot of patience.

 

I think there are a few threads regarding this topic as well on the forum if you can find it via the search function.

 

Good luck!

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Goof off is good but it almost works too good. Like above be careful using it. Adopt the same practices art restorers use. A WW2 helmet is an historical artifact and should be treated as such. Use q tips work in 1" squares and then use distilled water on the treated area and wipe off the goof off before it removes more paint then you want.

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Do you have a pic of the helmet? If it were me and you know whats there under the paint I'd just leave it be if you dont know what you are doing. Why risk it. You have had it for 25 years why now risk ruining it.

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Goof off is good but it almost works too good. Like above be careful using it. Adopt the same practices art restorers use. A WW2 helmet is an historical artifact and should be treated as such. Use q tips work in 1" squares and then use distilled water on the treated area and wipe off the goof off before it removes more paint then you want.

You know, as A Fine Arts Professor, I can tell you that you can not "adopt the same practices arts restorers uses." They have been through graduate school, and there is no comparison to the botched goof-offs on this website. Stop ruining helmets. IMHO NPerry

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stealthytyler

I love goof off. The hard part is when the corking prevents you from reaching the low parts of the paint. You often take the paint off of the tips of the cork first. I noticed that if you let a small puddle soak for a few seconds then wipe the paint off In a circular rotating movement, it will evenly remove the paint from the tip of the cork hump to the base of the cork. Hope that makes sense. Each helmet and paint is different. You may need to experiment and adjust along the way!

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stealthytyler

You know, as A Fine Arts Professor, I can tell you that you can not "adopt the same practices arts restorers uses." They have been through graduate school, and there is no comparison to the botched goof-offs on this website. Stop ruining helmets. IMHO NPerry

Folks can do as they please with their own property. Trust me, I have SAVED a few helmets with my "botched goof off" jobs. They look amazing and are worth so much more to me now.

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1972firebird

I would use the goof off, I tried i on my helmet liner I received this week, The photos of the liner are in the post on the 88th infantry division helmet. It was to remove a vietnam or newer repaint from a liner just where the rank and emblem are. If you decide to do it show pictures afterwards

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Thanks for everyone great input. Attached you will find a few pictures of the helmet. It has seen some hard use. There was a bunch of glare and had a difficult time getting a good picture of what I believe is a 2nd ID shield.

 

What I find interesting is the shield is a different color than the rest of the helmet. Could it be painted in subdued fashion with only an outline and no detail? Would love to hear your opinions of the helmet, if it is 2nd ID, and if an attempt should be made to see what is under the shield.

 

Thanks again for your insight.

post-215-0-33566800-1465712109.jpg

post-215-0-06247700-1465712126.jpg

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Here is a closer look at the shield. I tried to sketch around the shield in red outside the border so as not to interfere with the actual border. Sorry for my poor sketch.

post-215-0-15511400-1465713141.jpg

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Are you sure there is actually anything under there? Are we not looking at where the decal USED to be, on top of this lighter paintwork?

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Are you sure there is actually anything under there? Are we not looking at where the decal USED to be, on top of this lighter paintwork?

 

I'm not sure there is anything under the paint. I am sure the shield is paint and not where a decal was. Around the shield is what looks like the traces of a pencil outline that may have been used when painting the shield. I would think there would be different color paint showing through the chips on the shield if something was under it.

 

Another possibility is someone started to paint the shield, and never finished the detail....

 

At this point, I am not sure I should do anything to the helmet.

 

If anyone has seen an insignia like this, would like to hear from you.

 

Thanks

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I am sure the shield is paint and not where a decal was.

It's possible for it to be both. I tend to agree with Glen, the front of the helmet appears to have been scraped clean to accept a decal which is now missing.

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At this point, I am not sure I should do anything to the helmet.

 

 

Listen to your gut. It does not appare that there is anything under the paint, I'd have to agree that there was most likely a decal on top of that area which is now missing, trying to uncover anything will most likely just result in cleaning away the outline, which is part of the helmets history.

 

It's a very nice looking officers helmet.

 

I wonder if the liner is original or added before you got it.

 

J

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Listen to your gut. It does not appare that there is anything under the paint, I'd have to agree that there was most likely a decal on top of that area which is now missing, trying to uncover anything will most likely just result in cleaning away the outline, which is part of the helmets history.

 

It's a very nice looking officers helmet.

 

I wonder if the liner is original or added before you got it.

 

J

 

Thanks for your input. the liner has been with it along time as the rust on the liner matches the helmet. That said, I think the liner was repainted during the KW.

 

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Thanks for your input. the liner has been with it along time as the rust on the liner matches the helmet. That said, I think the liner was repainted during the KW.

 

The sweatband is made of heavy cotton and has a sewn over end, so it's from the 1960's, what's the date on it?

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Burning Hazard

You know, as A Fine Arts Professor, I can tell you that you can not "adopt the same practices arts restorers uses." They have been through graduate school, and there is no comparison to the botched goof-offs on this website. Stop ruining helmets. IMHO NPerry

 

 

I kid you not this account "NPerry" is shill; almost every post this person makes is when someone asks for restoration advice and they reply with with condescending gesture that the person "is ruining helmets" or "destroying history". I've been waiting for this person to post on this topic since it was posted from the start.

 

Lad, why don't you contribute something positive to the forum for once rather than boorish remarks toward other members.

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It looks like there is nothing under that paint... I wouldnt mess with it.

agreed. if this one is stripped of its top coat and nothing is there, you could seriously regret it

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I remember reading somewhere that second ID troops were known for scratching off their unit insignia. I can't remember where I read it but I do remember that it was the second ID. Otherwise this is a great looking helmet.

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