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South African Mk2

Article about: Hello there again. This helmet is currently on eBay and I have a quick question; is this paint original. The rest all seems to be in order, but I always have a hard time judging paint. Thank

  1. #1

    Default South African Mk2

    Hello there again. This helmet is currently on eBay and I have a quick question; is this paint original. The rest all seems to be in order, but I always have a hard time judging paint. Thanks!South African Mk2South African Mk2South African Mk2South African Mk2South African Mk2South African Mk2South African Mk2

  2. #2

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    can't zoom in, but I'd have to say the outside looks to be a repaint.

  3. #3

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    looks mint outside but worn underneath......seems odd unless repainted as Rene said.
    Regards,

    Jerry

    Whatever its just an opinion.

  4. #4

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    I would say the outside has been repainted as well. Leon.

  5. #5

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    I have one from the same "still-in-brown-paper" batch (except some stupid kid tore the paper off the inside nearly 40 years ago!). The paint is the same colour inside and out - any variances here are simply because I'm not David Bailey.

    The outer on mine looks like yours......perhaps it's the inside....if the guy who bought "yours" did the same as I....I mean, that "kid" did to mine then left the inside exposed it'd look great outside but poor inside????

    It's a very difficult call as these things were clearly wrapped up in storage for years, hence the brown paper remnants.....the outsides were clearly protected from the dreaded "liner rings" of the ones on top thanks to the brown paper.

    ...most people ask about the overall condition as they're often in mint condition.

    My advice....do what your heart tells you......oh, and your "heart" is a leather folding pouch-shaped thing which holds bits of paper which have value in your country! :-)



    South African Mk2South African Mk2

  6. #6

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    I agree with the consensus here. It is a good point to say that IF (as this appears to have packing remmnants on the liner) the outer paper had remained intact until relatively recently the outer paint would be almost factory fresh. However, there would still be a degree of patina and the inside would be a lot better than this example displays.

    To me the outer paint looks so new I can smell it! That as always comes with the caveat that it is difficult to be certain from pictures especially when they are as small as these.

    My own example is pretty much the same as those shown by Rene and Ade. It shows no sign of field wear but very definate storage wear and patina. It also has packing remmnants stuck to the liner but none on the outside which appears to have occurred a long time ago. Just consider though that in storage these would have been "one on top of the other" whether in crates or boxes and the paper was there purely to stop the helmets sticking together. Over decades the paper disintegrates (note the ubiquitous black "liner rings" on many helmets of all types and periods) and it is extremely likely that when the helmets are separated on removal from the boxes, the paper just comes away in fragments. It is very unlikely that any helmet would come away from the stack with packing fully intact except for the first one in the row and then the paper inside would probably be affected where its' liner met the shell of the next helmet. Take away from this equation the idea of perfect storage conditions in a climate controlled (humidity,temperature and ventilation maintained at optimum levels) warehouse environment (ridiculous you'll agree).

    The helmet you show looks to be pefectly good from these pictures EXCEPT for the factory fresh appearance of the outer paint.

    Here are a couple of close-ups of the paint inside and out of a helmet virtually identical to the one posted by Rene;

    Regards

    Mark

    South African Mk2South African Mk2
    Last edited by Watchdog; 05-03-2019 at 10:28 AM. Reason: typo
    "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares more about than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature with no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."

  7. #7

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    Quote by Composite View Post
    I have one from the same "still-in-brown-paper" batch (except some stupid kid tore the paper off the inside nearly 40 years ago!). The paint is the same colour inside and out - any variances here are simply because I'm not David Bailey.

    The outer on mine looks like yours......perhaps it's the inside....if the guy who bought "yours" did the same as I....I mean, that "kid" did to mine then left the inside exposed it'd look great outside but poor inside????

    It's a very difficult call as these things were clearly wrapped up in storage for years, hence the brown paper remnants.....the outsides were clearly protected from the dreaded "liner rings" of the ones on top thanks to the brown paper.

    ...most people ask about the overall condition as they're often in mint condition.

    My advice....do what your heart tells you......oh, and your "heart" is a leather folding pouch-shaped thing which holds bits of paper which have value in your country! :-)


    Ade Mate, yours is one that's a known ZA reproduction made in Lesotho! trust me! I had to go to RSA find my own one in person!
    Just kidding, it's a ripper.
    Last edited by reneblacky; 05-03-2019 at 09:09 PM.

  8. #8

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    Thanks for the responses everyone! I think I'll move on from this one if the paint is not original.

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