Relic M35 rust removal, electrolysis or oxalic acid?

[Nige H]

Personally I'd say in your case use the oxalic acid method on this helmet, as it appears from your pictures that a lot of the original paintwork is still intact. If you use caustic soda on lead/oil base paint it will dissolve the linseed oils binding agents and separate them from the pigments and solids and thus damage or strip the paint depending on how strong the solutions is.

Finally the heath and safety advice

1/ oxalic acid is the active ingredient in Rhubarb leaves, this is highly toxic and poisonous if ingested, so wear gloves and use in a well ventilated area.

2/ Caustic soda is corrosive so again wear gloves also this can give off a lot of heat when first mixed with water as an exothermic reaction takes places as the mixture vents excess hydrogen, also while on the subject of hydrogen, this is produced during all electrolysis as the electrolytic reaction separates the water in to its two key components, thus a hydrogen and oxygen enriched environment can form especially in a confined space, so again do this work outside.

Nige H

[davejb]

Good advise from Nige, any type of heat producing reaction can form a highly explosive environment, not to mention the fumes can be toxic by inhalation, so outside with hand protection is paramount, also no smoking , have you ever seen a battery explode due to someone smoking whilst it was being recharged, not a pretty sight and will spoil your whole day, as for cleaning ive not tried the oxalic method and have no wish to i feel that if someone isnt experienced or have someone who is standing by who is , why risk your health unecessarily, i personally use a product called nitromores, it is an acid and is water soluable and you can guage how much you put on and then wash off straight away, i have used this for yrs and am confident with it, but precautions still need to be taken, but i wish you good luck in whatever option you take, cheers Dave

[Glenn66]

Well i've got a delay with the helmet project now, as I live in Qatar I had to have the oxalic shipped from the UK and the shipper refused to handle it so I've been forced to reorder and hope that regular post will deliver out here.
But given the current flight cancellations in the UK right now I don't expect to see a parcel for some time.

Which is a shame as its a balmy 29c during the day here and my balcony is sunny and airy so no danger of toxic fumes plus I might get a tan at the same time!

[klinger]

Well i've got a delay with the helmet project now, as I live in Qatar I had to have the oxalic shipped from the UK and the shipper refused to handle it so I've been forced to reorder and hope that regular post will deliver out here.
But given the current flight cancellations in the UK right now I don't expect to see a parcel for some time.

Which is a shame as its a balmy 29c during the day here and my balcony is sunny and airy so no danger of toxic fumes plus I might get a tan at the same time!

just order from germany or the usa, or look out if you can find a cleaner calld barkeepers friend as this is oxalic acid as well, we in the uk are at the freezing point and this can take ages to deliver to you
Bar Keepers Friend | Cleaning Products | Household Cleaning Supplies

[davejb]

Sorry about that Glenn, its a shame , i know how frustrating it can be when you cant start a project, but hey dont rub it in about the weather out there, im typing this wearing a fleece, i really feel for you NOT, LOL

[Glenn66]

You'll get your own back dave when summer comes and it's 50C+ and 90% humidity!

[Masonk]

Klinger,
What is your method when using BKF? Is it a soak similar to what others have suggested, or do you use the instructions off of the canister (these suggest scrubbing the item).

I have a double decal M35 Police helmet that has some minor rust issues that I would like to cleanup. This is not ground dug, but rather the helmet was stored in a garage by the vet who brought it back and it was exposed to the elements.

I've been meaning to do some sort of cleaning of this helmet and reading Glenn's post has motivated me! I picked up some BKF today and would like to work on this lid over the holiday, same as Glenn. Below is a photo of the helmet in question to give you an idea of the severity of the rust.

Thanks in advance!!


Glenn,
I sincerely apologize if I am hijacking your thread. I just figured we were on a similar topic and I would use it as an opportunity to get some feedback on proper cleaning of my helmet.

[Nige H]

Hi yuengling,
personally looking at your helmet I'd say the oxalic acid method, as this will not effect the paint, but I'm not sure about the decals, again I'm sure someone will know if this is safe.

Nige H

[klinger]

Klinger,
What is your method when using BKF? Is it a soak similar to what others have suggested, or do you use the instructions off of the canister (these suggest scrubbing the item).

I have a double decal M35 Police helmet that has some minor rust issues that I would like to cleanup. This is not ground dug, but rather the helmet was stored in a garage by the vet who brought it back and it was exposed to the elements.

I've been meaning to do some sort of cleaning of this helmet and reading Glenn's post has motivated me! I picked up some BKF today and would like to work on this lid over the holiday, same as Glenn. Below is a photo of the helmet in question to give you an idea of the severity of the rust.

Thanks in advance!!


Glenn,
I sincerely apologize if I am hijacking your thread. I just figured we were on a similar topic and I would use it as an opportunity to get some feedback on proper cleaning of my helmet.

WOW LOVE THE HELMET
in your case as it is not a dug up you may be lucky and have just some top rust, take some cotton (makeup pads from your wife or something, but dont tell her) then add some of the bkf to the pad and some wather to have a sort of past add the pad with the past to the helmet and let it there for 30 min after that remove the pad and clean a bit, then you can see if this helps or not and be carefull with your liner

[FranzJon]

btw... earlier today in reading this thread I got some sort of a malware warning from my computer... only in this thread.