Mikeym_us Posted August 30, 2023 Share #1 Posted August 30, 2023 I picked this beauty up on Ebay the year before last. The seller had a bunch of these in rough shape and I went and bought the cream of the crop a Fixed bale helmet in rough shape but both bales completely intact. With a heat lot number of 185 no letter. When it looks like this I'm sure the Forum members will forgive me when I strip her of her paint and try to restore her to her former glory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted August 30, 2023 Author Share #2 Posted August 30, 2023 Took me a day and a half with spray on Citristrip to clean her up. The rust wasn't really as bad as I initially thought same with the cracks. I'm still going to hit this with Naval Jelly to make sure the Rust Nazi's don't make a comeback and ruin my paint job. I wonder if anyone knows where I can pick up some Zinc Chromatic primer in a shade similar to what was used in WWII or just go with the gray primer I already have? And I do have cork that I purchased from JMurray1944 for this project. BTW I noticed the markings all over the helmet after I stripped it I think those are marks from a wire gun to rough up the finish for better paint adhesion It's the most plausible explanation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share #3 Posted September 5, 2023 Primed and textured I know this is a unorthodox method of doing this. Plus it's also kind of difficult to source period authentic Zinc Chromate primer so please forgive me for using gray but I am also trying to prevent future rust. Plus I have also succeeded in preserving the heat lot number so it is visible and not hidden under the paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share #4 Posted September 5, 2023 Finally painted and in the last picture you can still see the heat lot number. I know this looks dark but the original helmet I own has a faded OD color that is similar to this shade so I know I'm not that far off with the paint color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted September 5, 2023 Author Share #5 Posted September 5, 2023 I put the chinstraps on a couple hours ago and this is my first ever attempt at Bar Tack And if I say so it doesn't look bad at all as it was sewn by hand and probably took about half an hour each side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacreamer Posted September 29, 2023 Share #6 Posted September 29, 2023 I used to own that liner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share #7 Posted September 29, 2023 19 minutes ago, pacreamer said: I used to own that liner! Some coincidence huh. So that was your name in that liner? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pacreamer Posted September 29, 2023 Share #8 Posted September 29, 2023 No, that’s exactly how it came to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share #9 Posted September 29, 2023 26 minutes ago, pacreamer said: No, that’s exactly how it came to me. And then I bought it from you. I'm either going to buy a repro helmet net for this helmet or cut one out of my bundles of uncut helmet netting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted September 29, 2023 Share #10 Posted September 29, 2023 Are you going to sign the inside when you finish it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikeym_us Posted September 29, 2023 Author Share #11 Posted September 29, 2023 26 minutes ago, The Rooster said: Are you going to sign the inside when you finish it? Why would I do that and how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
USMC_COLLECTOR Posted September 29, 2023 Share #12 Posted September 29, 2023 Just to show that you've redone it. 16 hours ago, Mikeym_us said: Why would I do that and how? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rooster Posted September 30, 2023 Share #13 Posted September 30, 2023 On 9/28/2023 at 10:24 PM, Mikeym_us said: Why would I do that and how? 20 hours ago, USMC_COLLECTOR said: Just to show that you've redone it. Bingo!!! At some point if left unmarked, a novice helmet collector in the future, might end up paying way too much for it. You could paint "Restored 2023" inside the steel. Or mark it restored in some durable not easily removed way. Just a suggestion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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