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Partial Restoration of paint on M1 Pot Helmet Shell


MetroPD
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Hey Yall,

So I have this WW2 production M1 shell, in pretty good condition, except for this one spot in the front. I got this helmet at a yard-sale, and the family I bought it from said their son would play with it outside, and they bought it at an army navy store years ago for him. Apparently he drew a star in the center of the front of the helmet, and when he decided he didnt want it anymore, took some sandpaper and attempted to remove the star. Now there is no texture and no paint in the front of this helmet, and its very noticeable. I dont want to restore the entire helmet, but Id like to make it look a little nicer at the very least. Ive never done a helmet restoration that involved changing the paint on the item, so I want to do this correctly the first time. So, what would I need, where should I purchase it, and what tips might you guys have? Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance!

-Ryan

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Are you sure it is a ww2 piece? it doesn't look like it is a front seam and it does not have sewn on straps. My guess is that it is a vietnam vintage helmet in which case my advice would be to get a nice weathered Vietnam era helmet cover to put over it. It will save you a lot of work and look like a decent display piece.

 

That being said I dont really agree with messing with paint unless it is to uncover something that you know is under a layer of paint.

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Are you sure it is a ww2 piece? it doesn't look like it is a front seam and it does not have sewn on straps. My guess is that it is a vietnam vintage helmet in which case my advice would be to get a nice weathered Vietnam era helmet cover to put over it. It will save you a lot of work and look like a decent display piece.

 

That being said I dont really agree with messing with paint unless it is to uncover something that you know is under a layer of paint.

Apologies. It's an "early" post-war Mccord Shell, or Korean War era if you prefer. Just for thoroughness, it's lot number M307C. I already have an original Vietnam era helmet that I just finished putting together, and I'm exactly the same with paint, but I really don't want this piece to look the way it does. Like i said, I'm not planning on restoring the entire helmet, and I don't want it to look new at all, I just want to at least cover up the silver markings, but adding some sand texturing would be nice, too. I never mess with pieces I own, and this is actually my first piece that I've actually considered "messing with". Thank's for your response!

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Looks like maybe a kid put a big star on the front? But who knows....

If you tried to fix it.. you'd have to get sand the same size grains and if you paint it..

you'd prob end up having to paint the whole thing because I doubt what you put on it would ever match the finish that is there now.

Its your helmet so its really up to you what you want to do with it.

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I agree, I think it would be difficult to refinish that one section without it still standing out from the rest. I think you might still have to repaint the whole helmet. Maybe putting a net on the helmet would help that one spot not stand out as much and it would still display well?

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BILL THE PATCH

The whole helmet looks like it had nice finish. To bad you messed with it. But live and learn. I agree with others, maybe get a Korean war era cover, since you have a name set.

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

The whole helmet looks like it had nice finish. To bad you messed with it. But live and learn. I agree with others, maybe get a Korean war era cover, since you have a name set.

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Yeah I think that might be my best bet. I didn't mess with it myself, saw it for $5 bucks at a garage sale a while back and thought the price was more than welcoming, even with the spot on it. Any brain-bucket is better than no brain-bucket lol.

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