In case you thought I’d given up on the Pickelhaube restoration project, I haven’t; it’s just been a long process. The lacquer has now been restored through the tedious process of applying a layer then waiting 24 hours for it to harden before sanding it with 600 grit sandpaper and water.
I’ve finally completed the lacquer work and the helmet is ready to have the hardware reinstalled. For these pictures I had the Kugel and base plate ready to install but the rear spine, which is secured at the top by the rearmost dome stud, has to be re-shaped to fit correctly, so, for these photos I’ve left it semi-installed. It has cleaned up quite well when compared to the original condition.
The rear spine will have to be annealed in order to bend it to a shape that will follow the shape of the shell. Of course applying that amount of heat will melt the solder securing the prongs mounted to the interior of the rear spine so, these will have to re-soldered after the spine has been annealed. Then it’s just a matter of installing the spine, the Wappen, final fitting and securing of the Kugel base plate, mounting the Kokarden and fitting the repaired original chinstrap.
I made a decision to leave the helmet crazing intact for the most part. In the restored areas the lacquer finish is like new, but to remove the crazing the entire shell would have to be re-lacquered and I wanted to leave the finish as original as possible.
The end is in sight!