Dirty & partly eaten liner.

[Little Mermaid]

Hi guys!

I bought a nice salty M40 Kriegsmarine helmet yesterday, the helmet has been hanging in the vet`s barn since he brought it back in 1945 and then it spent one month at the dealer`s before I got it. When it arrived here yesterday, it had pigeon poop in it as well as straw and ground dirt.

The shell actually looks fine as does the decal, but the liner (is missing two fingers) and chinstrap, oh man, so dirty and apparently some Mickey Mouse has had himself quite a meal, but you can see for yourself.

So, how do I come about cleaning this liner and soften up the chinstrap?
The strap is pretty stiff from hanging from a nail for such a long time.

TIA.

Christina

EDIT: added more photos.

[WOODSNAKE]

Hey Buddy , Nice find! Personally I would try cleaning it with warm water to start with and you might try a clear waterproof boot polish such as "Dubbin" to soften the chinstrap, just take your time and gently rub it in with your fingers till it starts to absorb into the leather, it may take some time but it may work,

Phill.....ip

[Little Mermaid]

Hi Phill... ip

Thanks for the advice. Cleaning with warm water won`t add rust to it?

[WOODSNAKE]

Hi Phill... ip

Thanks for the advice. Cleaning with warm water won`t add rust to it?

Sweet Lid Christina and no i think water is probably the least corrosive at this point, if your worried just dry it off with a towel and give it a final dry with your hair dryer on a low setting ")

[Little Mermaid]

Thanks!

[davejb]

By all means wipe over with a damp cloth but stay away from the decal it looks cracked and flaky and you could end up doing damage, the chin strap "MAY" soften up, but i dont think it will get pliable, at least to the extent that you can reset it over the visor and i would say that there is a risk of the strap cracking and breaking, the liner has seen better days which is to be expected being in a harsh environment, i would take a hairdryer on a cold setting and blow as much crud out as you can then gently wipe the inside with a damp cloth, being careful not to disturb the leather too much, then having cleaned it gently wipe the liner with a light coating of vaseline or petroleum jelly, this will put some protection on the leather and could soak in to make it less likely to just rot away, when i say a light coating i mean very light and do it with your finger not a cloth as you will need to tell if this action is pulling at the leather risking tearing, but the main criteria here is for you to assess just how much damage you could be doing by the mere act of cleaning, old leather doesnt take too kindly to being messed with so go gently

[Little Mermaid]

Good morning Dave
Thank you for your good advice. I will give it a careful go later today.

[davejb]

Hi Christina, ive just had another look at the liner in close up, there are parts that appear very unstable especially at the ends of the tongues, almost as if some leather rot has started, its easy to tell, just feel the leather, see if there are very thin very flaky and soft areas, it may be crumbly to the touch, if so avoid these areas, theres not much you can do to stop the rot other than completely seal the liner with a hard setting clear varnish like sealant, which in effect will turn it into a non flexible leather but will cause it to become brittle and of course mess with its originality, good luck with it.
cheers Dave

[SteveR]

DO NOT USE WARM WATER !
If it hits the liner it will shrink the leather to almost nothing.

[Little Mermaid]

That is my concern as well, the most dreaded thing, rot. Any suggestion as what to use as a sealer? I`m sorry for my questions but I`m at a loss here.