M42 Luftwaffe helmet. Anyone seen a helmet patina like this?

[bigmacglenn]

Thanks for posting on the brown patination, as I have one in my collection as well and was wondering the same thing!
This M40 Reissue has brown Patina, which gives it an interesting appearance, and this helmet only has one coat of paint...
Cheers, Glenn

[Danmark]

HI Tim,
Actually Glenn's above helmet is a good example of what I will try to explain.

All metal corrodes - from the moment it is exposed to oxygen it will discolour and ferrous oxide ( rust ) will form. IF the paint is thin enough and light on solid content then even if it is painted, oxygen CAN still get down to the metal through the paint and oxidation can start. Patination yes, but patination due to BOTH colour shift / bleed out in the paint pigment as well as corrosion creep from within the metal substrate. Remember these were a combat helmet made to be functional - not top shelf paint jobs ( I am amazed many are in as good condition today as they are! )

Regardless of which is happening with yours, it is a good indication of originality as it is damn impossible to replicate!
Cheers, Dan

[bigmacglenn]

Thank you for your time and knowledge...This was quite a mystery to me!
Glenn

[canadatim]

Thanks Dan for your explanation regarding the Luftwaffe helmet I posted quite a while ago. You are the only one to give a logical and credible analysis why helmets turn this brown colour.
Mine still has a very rough texture to it, almost as if sand is still adhering to the helmet.
My thought on this helmet is exactly as you explained. I can tell that my particular helmet had a VERY light coat of paint applied at the factory and over 70 years, the helmet oxidized and the paint just deteriorated. In sunlight however, it still has a tint of the original blue colour to it, weird.
Thanks Glenn, for bringing the topic up again too. Yeah, you're helmet looks exactly like mine with the exception that mine is an M42.

[canadatim]

Glenn, I also noticed the liner pins on your helmet still have the original paint on them as mine do too!

[Danmark]

Thanks guys, I'm no expert but when you think of other things with paint on them where the colour changes or the rust bleeds though ( grain silos, tankers, etc..... ) it becomes clear. The good old el' cheapo rattle can that contains more gas than paint is a good example versus the hi-solids paints you can buy for car restoration. There is a US product called POR-15 that is high in paint solids and does prevent the oxygen working away at the base metal but like all things in life you get what you pay for and this stuff is expensive.

Happy to help where I can - cheers, Dan

[Neil Hever]

My M42 LW helmet has brown streaks on the inside and brown splotches on the outer shell. It appears the paint is fairly thin on the inside and just evaporated or got absorbed over time. NH