WW! German M16 was Black with crude swastika restore

[Scourer3]

G'day , I picked this helmet up at an auction for around $95 aud. The paint was terrible and had a gouged and I mean gouged and then crudely painted swastika . I removed the black paint hoping to remove all trace of the swastika only to find it was still there in a shadow, the helmet had mostly been sanded back previously then painted black. Do i continue with the restore and paint it a period colour , correct as possible colour or leave it. If i leave it as is what do I use to protect the surface from further rust and environmental damage. It is a very solid shell with the dome stamp and maker ET64 clearly visible. I had suggestions to leave it alone, but the hack job done had to be gone. Must have been a kid. I don't touch any of my helmets but could not tolerate the look. any suggestion appreciated with regards to stabilizing the surface and or whether to continue on and repaint. thanks Darren

sorry clueless with forums no idea how to rotate pics

[AndyM35]

Firstly, good work on removing the black paint! Looks like all of the original feldgrau paint came off too. To be honest, there is so little of the original fabric of this helmet left, to my mind a full restoration might be the best option. Otherwise you could keep it in a low humidity, stable condition and monitor to see if the rust becomes active which may occur now that immediate environment has been changed i.e. the black paint removed and shell exposed.. If so, a little Renaissance wax could help to protect it.

[Scourer3]

G'day, thanks for the info. there was no way it was staying as it was. There was minimal paint on the dome and a lot had been sanded off around the edges, why I do not know . If it was prep for paint the paint job wasn't worth it. I will just clean it up and repaint in a close as possible RAL colour. It was vandalism really what had been done. over painting in black wasn't an option as I would have had to take it back anyway. It was cheap no one obviously wanted to spend time on it. I will just take my time and clean it and respray. As for temps here we had a run of 8 days in summer of 42c up to 44. average December January was around 35c. With the heat its not so much humid but it creates it where I store my gear. Really appreciate the input . Honestly it is hard to look at the shell before clean up and after. Hopefully I can do a decent job.

[AndyM35]

Hi Scourer,

I totally get where you are coming from and in these situations sometimes all you can do is your best and I’m sure the helmet will look much better once you have worked on it. And totally agree about the vandalism. It really is and unfortunately this is happening a lot more with fakers applying camo to original untouched helmets. They are pretty easily detected but unfortunately the damage is already done.

I believe you are in Australia? If so, me too. Unfortunately, I’ve had some issues with humidity effecting some of my collection recently, as we have had non-stop rain followed by sun, hence lots of humidity. I’m going to buy a dehumidifier, but it’s always something to keep an eye on.

Andy

[Scourer3]

Thanks mate, I will take my time with the paint job and particularly the prep. Have seen some shocking stuff , like painting a mo on the mona lisa . these guys should just buy repro's and run amok. Thats what they are for. If your in the east coast mate you guys have copped a hammering with rain, sun, rain chuck in a fire or three and some more rain. I have really only had to worry about heat and a bit of humidity. love ya schnauzer ?. cheers for the info and support. take it easy dazza

[AndyM35]

Hi Dazza,

Yes, on the east coast which has been a bit hellish the last few years but hopefully things are starting to get back to normal now!? Thanks re: the Schnauzer.That was Otto. Unfortunately he passed away in early 2019 but was a great dog and much loved member of the family.

A