Restoring a M35

[Datrus]

Indeed. It's a pain in the....neck

[GIZMO8Z]

It almost looks like a goopy snow camo! Can't wait to see how this one turns out!

[davejb]

Lars, are you working on small areas at a time or trying to cover the whole helmet in one go, because that could be why its going off before your ready

[Datrus]

GIZMO8Z: This was exactly what i thought when i saw the pics. Look a bit different IRL.

davejb: No, i am not trying to cover the whole lid in one go. I am quite used to filler work, but i will say this. Filling a old Alfa Guilietta from 1957 is a piece of cake compared to helmet work. (Maybe i already said that?)

I started with filling all the "big" dents and holes, then the smaller dent/pits and now the edge and working on a smooth surface in general. I will post again when i have laid the first primer coating on the helmet.

[davejb]

Yep, its a lot different and every one is different, some go easy some fight to the bitter end, i dont know why we put ourselves through it lol

[Datrus]

Some progress on the M-35. I have applied a thin layer of primer on the outside of the helmet. I did this because it shows if i have missed something. The surface might look smooth and nice, but when you apply primer every error stands out. Then you just have to sand it off and apply some filler. As you can see there is some corrections to do on the left side. Small holes and a little more shaping to do on the top right.

[GIZMO8Z]

Wow, Lars! Looks like it's coming along great!

[davejb]

How many coats of paint will you be applying and what are the end results you're looking for, ie factory finish or combat finish

[Datrus]

How many coats of paint will you be applying and what are the end results you're looking for, ie factory finish or combat finish

My thought is to give it two coats of Dunkel Feldgrau. The last coat with alu oxide for texture. I want to make a "combat" helmet, going for east front camo style, no decals. I will try in my own way to replicate a new helmet arriving to the front, applying the camo paints with brush, not spray, only leaving part of the Dunkel Feldgrau as contrast to the others. More or less like i would have done it myself back then. I guess camo jobs was quite individual on the frontlines. Please correct me if i'm wrong.

[davejb]

I would imagine a personal application to suit the user and the background in which he was fighting, some were crudely done , others more elaborately so, the reason i asked how many layers was in case you wanted to produce a used combat lid ie been in combat, whereby you would need to add marks, small chips in the outer paint etc, if the layers were too thin you would show the underlying metal, as you know the original paint schemes from the factory were baked on, forming a hard painted surface and when chipped you could see the depth of the paint used , especially when a thicker camo scheme was applied, it may pay to place the helmet in an oven and do the same, thats if the paint they use nowadays will take the heat, also the type of camo for the theatre of operations etc, it may be that you dont need to fully texture the helmet with a/o in the base layers, but in the outer camo layer only ie a sand added effect dependant of course where your basing the "front" fought in