3 helmets. 2xM18 and 1xM17. Reused During ww2??

[Ko de Bruin]

Hello my name is Ko de Bruin,

And i always read this forum to learn more about Helmets from ww1 and 2.
This is my first post so please be kind:P

I have bought a view days ago 3 dig up helmets. The buyer said in the ad 3 m16 helmets. They where found In The Netherlands near Arnhem. At least that is what he said.
But when i got them they where 2 m18 helmets and 1 m17 helmet. ( As far as my knowledge goes) I bought them for only 50 euro's for the 3.
2 of them are in bad shape, but are still hard. 1 is in somewhat better condition.

After looking at the paint, the inside of the helmets and even what i think is the remains of a decal i am thinking these where reused during ww2. They have the same Interior ring as a WW2 helmets.

i have made pictures from the 2 M18's. Those had the most paint left. Al of them where the bigger size with the smooth "horns"

Would like to see what you guys think about it.

[Ko de Bruin]

the third picture is a close up from what i think are the remains of a decal that is on the first photo helmet

[MAP]

Welcome Ko! Glad you decided to sign up.

Those are some pretty rusty relics. Given the condition you might was to preserve/treat them. Some guys use an acid wash. Maybe one of them could provide some details on how it's done.

From what I can see, I agree. They look like reissued lids.

Michael

[Ko de Bruin]

Thank for your reply Michael! Yeah i know. They sure are rusty. But the for the main part the are still quit solid, especially the first one with the decal. But i collect everything from good condition to dig ups.Just love the history behind these helmets. Wil do some research to how to preserve them! And thanks for your opinion, means a lot to me!

[MAP]

Try oxalic acid. That's what most relic guys use here. I've never used it so not sure how to use it but I've seen it do work ders.

[Larboard]

Willkommen ;-)

Whatever you do with acid, wear plenty of protection, gloves, eye protection, vapor mask, etc. And plenty of water on hand just in case you need to rinse some off. I don't do the relic helmet thing and probably never will, but working on a small farm I use acid to remove rust from things occasionally, Muriatic Acid they call it here, for cleaning pools, it's Hydrochloric acid actually, the fumes are awful, but man does it eat rust, and can leave a nice pickled look to the metal.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrochloric_acid

But the problem I see with this is that you loose the ground dug look, and the helmet has been in the ground a long time and is missing much metal, so getting of the rust is a contradiction in appearances, and it is altering history also.

You'd be surprised how much water and scrubbing alone can do, it can do a lot. And then you can seal it with clearcoat, or Linseed oil, or some other type of oil. Just spraying WD40 on the cleaned and dried surface with leave a nice look after dries, but it stinks...

Another neat trick, and a lot more user friendly than pure acids is making a bath of Coke, Coca Cola... It will remove rust given enough time, not toxic to handle, just don't drink it when you're done

Actually, it's the only good thing I can think of for Coke. It certainly is not something I'd recommend drinking.

I think Coke has Oxalic acid in it, which is why it's so good at eating rust?

[MAP]

Lol..,I used to drink 2 liters (at least) of Coke a day. Now down to weekends only. Agree that is good as a mild form of acid. Can also clean the toilet bowl

[Larboard]

LOLOLOL ;-))) They should have that on the billboards