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M1C to restore or not?


Gijoe1987
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So I have had this M1C helmet since I was a kid. My grandfather worked at Picatinny Arsenal and grabbed it for my father to play with when he was young. While it was in his possession he would shoot at it with BB guns and eventually he spray painted it silver and an off green. When I started playing army he found it in the attic and gave it to me. I played with it most of my childhood and unfortunately at some point after I stored it in the basement we had a flood. The helmet has since rusted. I talked to J. Murray about two years ago regarding restoring it but then life got in the way. I am debating having him restore it back to its original issued glory but wanted the members thoughts here. He told me he could likely do it without removing the straps on the shell and I know that’s a huge deal since it’s the only thing that separates it from an average FS/SB. The other question is if I have it restored do I restore it to brand new or have him give it an aged look? Or do I just leave it alone? I have struggled with this for years so I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts. Thanks in advance!

 

 

 

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In most collectors opinion it will be ruined (collector value and history) if fully restored, if it were mine i would just strip off the green and silver with goof off to bring it back to a heavily patina original state , maybe ad a net for display or you could just leave as is as a fond memory of your childhood...its a really nice m1c as it sits👍🏻....mike

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18 minutes ago, sgtdorango said:

In most collectors opinion it will be ruined (collector value and history) if fully restored, if it were mine i would just strip off the green and silver with goof off to bring it back to a heavily patina original state , maybe ad a net for display or you could just leave as is as a fond memory of your childhood...its a really nice m1c as it sits👍🏻....mike

Good off would take spray paint off? And thanks for the response I appreciate it.

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I'm one of the "purists" but I generally wouldn't have a problem repainting a helmet that had already been kinda messed up from a known source - meaning I was quite confident it would always have little value as-is. If it's just badly worn and I didn't know the origin of the paint I would be more hesitant. Just try to preserve the texture or replace it with the correct texture use the correct paint code. There is a little more work and outlay than many think to make them right IMO and even then it is still "restored".

... and whatever you do don't paint emblems or other markings on it.

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I would just strip it first (using acetone, Q-tips and plenty of patience) and see what you have.  Otherwise it will just forever be "repainted".

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4 hours ago, sgtdorango said:

In most collectors opinion it will be ruined (collector value and history) if fully restored, if it were mine i would just strip off the green and silver with goof off to bring it back to a heavily patina original state , maybe ad a net for display or you could just leave as is as a fond memory of your childhood...its a really nice m1c as it sits👍🏻....mike

 

The Goof Off really surprised me. I ran out but its already looking more like a GI helmet and not a kids toy. Any reason why the goof off does not disturb the original OD paint and only the spray paint?

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Like Mr Jerry said. Acetone will work and do it slowly a little at a time.

 

The paint on the helmet is lead based and very old. Been on there 8 decades.

 

The spray paint comes off easy because its new compared to the original paint, and oil based..

 

Whink rust remover will take off the rust but wont effect the paint.

 

You can hit the inside with the whink and it will clean up all the rust nicely.

 

Try to keep it off the straps. Wrap em in plastic, tape it shut so the stuff doesnt get on the straps.

 

CLR prob would work too. Follow the directions wear gloves eye protection . you may have to hit it twice to get all the rust.

 

I personally would not do anything to the liners paint.

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CavalryCombatant

Color me envious! 
 

 

From what I understand the reason goof off doesn’t effect the original paint is something to do with the heat treating on the paint from the factory- but I could be wrong.
 

 

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So I did some more today and was surprised by this “Captain” rank. The white does come off with the Goof Off and its looks off. My father does not recall the rank and it doesn’t look period to me but I’m now left with another dilemma. Do I work around that possible rank or wipe it clean?

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1 minute ago, Mr.Jerry said:

I would leave that.  looks like a roman numeral "II" rather than an attempt at rank.

I agree. Could have been a child’s attempt at making the helmet a captains helmet but like I mentioned it was so long ago my father can’t remember. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not to rock the boat, but I would have no problem removing the Roman numeral II. Looks much newer and brighter than the original OD paint and not like any rank I’ve ever seen. Agree it looks like a kid did it to simulate a captain’s bars. 

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I think it would not be to big a distraction if the helmet was repainted.  I was a 11B in the 70's.  our helmets were always being repainted for inspection.  I'm sure that practice went back to the beginning of helmets.

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5 hours ago, steeve555 said:

I think it would not be to big a distraction if the helmet was repainted.  I was a 11B in the 70's.  our helmets were always being repainted for inspection.  I'm sure that practice went back to the beginning of helmets.

How many coats of paint did your entrenching tool have by the time you turned it back in to CIF?

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On 11/24/2021 at 8:33 PM, CavalryCombatant said:

Hey man it’s been a couple weeks, any updates?

Hey Cavalry,

 

     Sorry for the delay I just had my first born and I’m learning how to be a dad haha. I did manage to make some more progress but it is not done yet. I will post updated photos later today. Hopefully…

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CavalryCombatant
1 minute ago, Gijoe1987 said:

Hey Cavalry,

 

     Sorry for the delay I just had my first born and I’m learning how to be a dad haha. I did manage to make some more progress but it is not done yet. I will post updated photos later today. Hopefully…


Congratulations!  
 

No rush on the photos, sounds like you’re plenty busy already.

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