ET68 M35 Restoration!

**ObKrieger** · 08-07-2015, 06:21 AM

Hi guys!

Last December, forum member Leonardo from Croatia posted this M35 shell: M35 interesting paint

I had him purchase it for me so that I could restore it and use it for reenacting- in particular, a Poland 1939 impression.

I'm typically one to spend my money on originals for the collection and not reproduction bits and pieces for refurbs, but this was a really fun project to try. Just to get into detail, I used oil-based paint color matched to a 1938 production ET M35 Heer (to match the shell), a reproduction 1938 dated reinforced aluminum liner, a reproduction 1938 dated chinstrap with original aluminum hardware, brass split pins that were painted with a slightly different shade of apple green (as per many originals), and then the best water transfer decals I could find which I sealed with lacquer. I have not aged or weathered the thing in any way and nothing here was meant to deceive, of course. Any serious collector worth half his salt could smell the paint and feel the leather and figure out it's not over a week old. I have even gone as far as to mark it with my initials and a '2015' just behind the liner. Just wanted a factory fresh M35 as correct as possible so I can take it out to events and beat the hell out of it.

I'd really like to take the leather out and redo the stitching so that it runs all the way down the finger, and then I also need to polish up the paint a bit. It's a little too flat for an M35.

Anyway, I hope you like it! I'm after a good quality reproduction M36 feldbluse next.

**Espenlaub Militaria** · 08-07-2015 06:21 AM

We also buy and trade your items and full collections!

**Danmark** · 08-07-2015, 06:37 AM

Great job Mo!
Burnish it a bit with some worn scotchbrite pads to give a bit of sheen if the matt finish bothers you.
Cheers, Dan

**kradman** · 08-07-2015, 06:41 AM

You have done a good job but i would have left it with what original paint was left and maybe have brought a dug up shell to repaint and restore but thats just my thoughts

**ObKrieger** · 08-07-2015, 07:16 AM

I would normally leave anything with original paint well alone, but as you can see here, there are really just a few specks of apple green here and there. The other colors you see (mostly brown and black) are just very deep rust.