Ssh39

[3aStalina]

bought this on a whim knowing it was an original Ssh39 with a rare early liner. looks like it has had several layers of paint on the outside, some perhaps camo (the white sure looks like it) but who knows... the inside rear rim was painted black. i had a hunch it was post war and when i rubbed it lightly with a q-tip and acetone it came right off. underneath was the faded black ink stamp with the familiar "РОСТ 2а ЛМЗ 40 г". to my surprise, the paint under and around the ink stamp is not the usual field green, but a light turquoise-gray. could this be a Soviet marines issued helmet? thank you

[helmet2id]

I like it!

[3aStalina]

thanks!

removed some more black paint on inside rear looking for the other ink stamp, and found it, "K 237"

[Wesley's Dad]

Are you sure it is not just discolored white? There exist early Ssh39 with white interiors and exterior undercoat. There is also talk in the past on some of the Russian forums that Ssh39 left the factory in white during the 1940 Winter War

[James C]

well done on a nice aquisition ,i really like the paintwork and your cleaning techniques have shown great results ,who would of thought the ink stamps just waiting there to be discovered

[pupapup]

I have a couple that have overpaint on the inside rear. Since Stalina posted this, I got some acetone and Qtips and tried it myself, just can't make much progress, the paint is stubborn so far. I want to take my time though, would hate to ruin the stamp as well. Stalina, any other tricks to this besides patience? Thanks.

Kevin

[3aStalina]

perhaps the black paint has reacted with the white under it. this would explain the discoloration. has anyone seen this happen to white paint that's been covered by black for a long time? would be interesting to see some examples or people's descriptions of such an occurrence...

with this one i really had nothing to lose when i tried to removed the black paint. no tips really, just q-tip and acetone, nice and easy. i was lucky, my black paint was very easy to remove, it gave way the instant i started rubbing it. i don't know if you should try to remove stubborn paint, chances are that you will also remove the ink stamp along with the stubborn paint. then again, if you have nothing to lose, go for it, it's worth a try... one thing, rub in the area where you would expect to see the ink stamp, which is to the left of the metal stamped size-batch number. when looking for the other ink stamp (K-237) i first thought it would be to the left of the size/factory/date stamp that i had uncovered, but after removing the black paint there with no results i realized it must be to the right of the size-batch metal stamp, and there it was.