German M40 ET66 Restoration

[seandm]

Hey All! Well here is the start of my latest restoration project. It is a German M40 ET66 lot no. 209. I intend to restore it as a single decal SS helmet with slate grey paint and textured finish. I hope to have it finished within the next week so will keep this updated. I am also purchasing a dome stamp correct for ET M40's and sourcing a G Singer Klattau marked chinstrap as I believe these were common on SS M40's. As you can see the shell is pretty much pristine. It had a few layers of post war paint with no original finish remaining. The pictures are posted in order to show the process. I strip the shell with industrial strength paint stripper, Then sand it down. Finally it gets wiped over multiple times with acetone to remove any final bits of remaining paint etc, Then washed in hot soapy water and dried ready to be painted. Thanks for looking! Cheers, Sean.

[TheGoon]

Helmets in great shape and I look forward to seeing it, good luck!

[bigmacglenn]

I enjoy bringing old shells back to life as well, using only original pins, liner...I wouldn't recommend adding a fake SS decal to this helmet because then it is no longer a restoration, it's just another fake SS helmet...but that's just my personal standpoint...Good luck with your projects...!
cheers, Glenn

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[greatwhite]

Wow look at that stripper go, good look with it mate in that condition it should not be to much of a problem.

[Danmark]

I'm sorta with Glenn on 'restorations' ( I would prefer we use the term 'rebuilt' ) Obviously it is NOT a replica because it is an original shell.

Still and all, I look forward to the result!!

Cheers, Dan

[seandm]

Hi Dan, I fully understand your's and Glenn's opinion's but I would only consider looking to rebuild the shell with original parts if the shell itself still maintained its original paint and finish. All the helmets I restore are post war used with no remaining original paint or parts other than the shell itself. I figure it would be a waste to source original parts for it and financially not agreeable. Then the paint finish would still not be original so the helmet would be a fake. I would dispute that what I am doing is creating a fake but more a replica. I figure it's better to bring these lids back to life then to be left to waste and I can't afford thousand's for original ss lids, So these are the next best things for me. I shall note I would never restore any lid with any original remaining features, Paint or parts as it is a part of history. I try to restore the helmets I do faithfully and accurately for my own display's. I do not age them to appear original or intend them to deceive. To add, I can't remember which member said this in another thread recently but to steal their quote, "The item only becomes a fake once someone tries to knowingly sell it as an original". I can't abide the kind of people that sell fakes but unfortunately it is something we all encounter in all aspects of our hobby. As said I fully understand and respect your opinions guy's and hope you all can see where I coming from with my views. Anyway I should have the helmet finished by Friday evening, So will post pics then! Cheers, Sean.

[seandm]

Hey all! It looks like I won't have the helmet finished until tomorrow, But here is some progress. Again pics are in order. The paint is sprayed on heavily then aluminium oxide is sprinkled on to the wet paint by hand. Then I repeat this process multiple times with multiple coats of paint until the shell has an even coating. I know the texture looks heavier than wartime produced lids but considering it is done by hand with spray can, I think I could do worse lol. Also paint is not gloss but matte, Pics were taken immediately after heavy spraying of paint. Cheers, Sean.

[greatwhite]

Wish i had the time to move mine on so fast, looking good there Sean, do you just sprinkle through your hand or use something like an old salt/pepper pot.

[seandm]

Thanks Steve! I sprinkle it through my hand which takes practice as it can be really tricky to get an even application but I like to think I have got the hang of it. What I actually do to be specific is grab a pinch of the aluminium oxide powder, Which is really fine like sand by the way. I grab between finger & thumb then with palm facing upwards over the helmet I rub the texture which then falls into my palm and bounces of onto the paint and believe it or not that works quite well for getting an even covering lol. I just keep repeating that all over the helmet holding it with my free hand and it really dosent take that long to get it all covered and looking even. Cheers, Sean.

[Dean]

looks great. im still in the process of restoring my m42 ckl66 lid. i was lagging too long to paint it after i sanded it and it kept rusting.

i have been playing around with gun blueing (cold) so, i decided to try bluing it! sounds dumb, i know..but it actually looks pretty nice.

i want to use the aluminum oxide dust too. i have a nice original lufty lid with a sand finish and i want to emulate that look on the m42.

you have done a fine job. i was wondering how the liner pins will fit onto the shell, will they be tight?