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Early WW2 pressure liner with rayon, no mark in liner


P-59A
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This was a flea market find today. I know enough to know this is the second type helmet liner made with left over Hawley liner parts. What I don't understand is why no makers stamp in the liner. What is the time frame for this. The seller told me the liner was painted white and that he painted it O.D. to make it look better. This is why I didn't post pics of the outer liner. I am going to remove the new paint and see what is under it. Should I do anything to clean up the metal inside or should I leave it alone?

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After poking around I found an off center Westinghouse stamp and I found mineral spirits on a Q tip cleans up the metal well.

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After taking off a small area of paint around the rear rivet its clear this liner was never painted.

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The date for this type liner from Westinghouse for a rayon webbed liner look to be around February-May 1942. It looks like between May to September the unpainted A washers and rayon webbing was used.

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Pudgy (V)

I would leave the metal alone, it looks like it is in nice shape. Be careful removing the outer paint, don't use something too aggressive. You might be able to find the original paint under the layers.

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I would leave the metal alone, it looks like it is in nice shape. Be careful removing the outer paint, don't use something too aggressive. You might be able to find the original paint under the layers.

I used the mineral spirits to just remove the oxidation on the rectangle washers. I didn't clean anything else. In as far as the paint I'm 99.9% sure this had no paint on it when the seller put the O.D. on it. I have not removed any more than around the web rivet in the rear. No indication of an older paint was seen and looking at the over all repaint no indications an older paint job can be seen under the new paint. So the question stands. Do I remove the new paint or let it stay?

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Ultimately I'd probably leave it. Me personally, I tend to display uncommon liners like this showing the internal, as the uniqueness overshadows any regular fixed bail I would throw it in

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Pudgy (V)

If you think the original paint was removed, not sure removing the OD repaint is getting you anywhere other than a bare liner. In my opinion, I would rather have a repaint than no paint. I would just leave it alone. As for the chinstrap, it is a permanent chinstrap and not replaceable. I would probably leave it alone also.

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If you think the original paint was removed, not sure removing the OD repaint is getting you anywhere other than a bare liner. In my opinion, I would rather have a repaint than no paint. I would just leave it alone. As for the chinstrap, it is a permanent chinstrap and not replaceable. I would probably leave it alone also.

Is there any way of re enforcing the leather to keep it from degrading any more that is in keeping with preservation of the item?

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Ultimately I'd probably leave it. Me personally, I tend to display uncommon liners like this showing the internal, as the uniqueness overshadows any regular fixed bail I would throw it in

This is what I have done. I put a fixed bail on it that reflects the over all condition of the liner. I'm going to leave the rear rivet exposed as it is not a rivet normally seen on later helmets.

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Pudgy (V)

Any advice on the forum for leather preservation has been to leave it alone. I personally have used Pecard before and thought it did a nice job in making the leather more supple. The strap is already broke, I would probably leave it alone. Just be careful not to pull it off on the other end.

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Tons of postings on leather care, but it will can not be restored and anything you put on it will change the appearance forever. RESIST!

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Pudgy (V)

It's a really nice liner, and somewhat rare. You don't see too many of them. I would enjoy it the way it is. Nice find! I love the early liners.

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So this is my compromise. I threaded the broken section back through the slot to hold it in place and give it a better presentation. Thanks guys!!!

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So this is my compromise. I threaded the broken section back through the slot to hold it in place and give it a better presentation. Thanks guys!!!

 

You could probably use a drop of contact cement to hold the end in place (think of it as replacing the rivet with glue). Contact cement works well with leather and yields a somewhat flexible bond. Although I don't use leather treatments, I have repaired liner straps with contact cement with good results.

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You could probably use a drop of contact cement to hold the end in place (think of it as replacing the rivet with glue). Contact cement works well with leather and yields a somewhat flexible bond. Although I don't use leather treatments, I have repaired liner straps with contact cement with good results.

I like that idea, Thanks!!!

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