Pre D Day battleground Training Area.

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Hello M3,
Good to hear from you, and super well spotted that's great news for me, they fit the diameter of the Bazooka rounds body perfectly.
Cheers very much.
All the Best.
LUCKYSTRIKE

[cornishboy]

Great finds Lucky,what an amazing site. Thanks for showing

[Steve T]

Awesome finds again LS. This is truly a great site

Steve T

[Walkwolf]

Im very happy to have found this , my first Grenade handle and in great condition too.It's the handle for a US (WW2) 200A1 fuse, these were used on the M6, M7. M8 and other coloured Smoke or Gas irratant grenades. I think this came off a smoke grenade used in training it was manufactured by Universal Automatic Machine Co of Marshall TX. Finding this has made me more sure that the rusted tin like relic with ventilation holes shown previously on this thread is probably the remains of a used smoke grenade. Cheers LUCKYSTRIKE

This grenade handle/lever is not bent to the correct shape to fit the tubular
'can' type smoke grenade like the illustrated example - but could indeed
be from a WWII 'WP', 'CN', or MkII practice grenade.

Very cool finds.........!








Hurrah - 5000th post.........!

[Vegard T]

I'm loving the finds and I am testing the White vinegar method as we speak(A 7.92 round and some small rusted parts). What do you use to seal the items when you are completely done?

[Steve T]

I think WH and LS used a clear varnish to seal their finds once cleaned. At least their iron finds. I tend to not use anything.......just clean them up and keep them somewhere dry so that water content drops to near zero, then they should stop deteriorating.

In the past I have used a clear lacquer used for painting outdoor furniture. It is a kind of 'rubberised' lacquer and has a very low water content so it works quite well.

Steve T

[Vegard T]

I have tried WD-40 on some relics, any of you tried that? The result was acceptable, but I haven't tried on that many relics yet.

[Steve T]

I avoid WD40 as I have heard that it increases the degradation rate of rusty items. Because of this I've never tried it myself. On recent experience, white/distilled vinegar seems to be the way to go on most objects. I am yet to try it however, on pure iron or steel items. Electrolysis still remains method of choice for these.

Steve T

[Whitehunter]

Good job with the clean up! I like the Rifle grenades and that dog tag thingy is cool.

Also do you use the vinegar method on the 2inch fins.

[LUCKYSTRIKE]

Hi Guys,
Thanks for your replies,
Walkwolf congratulations on reaching the 5000 posts milestone and for the info on the grenade handle very helpful.
Collectorww2, Steve is correct I do tend to seal the steel and iron relics after a good clean with a thin coating of matt varnish, once applied I usually wipe the excess off with a dry brush which makes for a thin and hardly noticable layer of very matt varnish that once dried seals the relic from the air stopping further rusting. I've had great results with this method over the years, and as a bonus if there are small patches of paint remaining on any of the relics then the matt varnish coating the top also brings out the colour close to its original intensity. But for alloy or brass items once cleaned and dryed I usually give them a thin coating of bees wax which really brings out the original colours and protects at the same time.
Hi WH, Yes you can use the vinegar to clean the mortar tails but because vinegar is very acidic only leave them bathing for an hour or so because the acid if left to long will eventual eat into the alloy. It works well for cleaning alloy but just use shorter time scales and watch them closely.
Steve thanks for your positive comments, I'm itching to see what you'll find on Mondays expedition. I agreed with the WD40 (light oil) advice, I've heard that over time it can actually draw water out of the atmosphere onto what ever its used on so not always best for rusted metal
Cornishboy thanks for your reply you have a great site yourself always a pleasure to see what you'll recover next.
All the Best
LUCKYSTRIKE