Paul LeBrasseur said:
Hi Paul:
Sorry for the delay. When I received the helmet from Bruce Herman, the first thing I noticed was the heavy coating of spray lacquer covering every inch of the exterior helmet shell. In some places, the application was so thick the lacquer had puddled and run:
Whoever applied the lacquer did not even bother to remove the Wappen first. Note the "shadow" where the eagle shielded the Korpus.
Firstly, I removed the liner, which is secured by half-head split brads, then the Wappen and spike. The spike and Wappen were placed in a bath of lacquer thinner, and, after a good soak, gently agitated with a soft toothbrush to remove all the goop.
Then, I brushed the helmet shell with Back to Nature Ready•Strip, a non toxic paint and varnish remover. As the lacquer softened, it was wiped away using bleached cotton rags to prevent scratching. The shell then received a wipe down with a thinner soaked rag to remove any remaining traces of lacquer.
I polished the helmet shell by hand using Simichrome paste polish. The Simichrome also removed much of the surface rust that had been sealed under the lacquer. After buffing, I wiped down the metal with an alcohol soaked rag to remove any residual polish. I then buffed the shell with silicone impregnated flannel as a rust preventative.
The wappen was cleaned with Hagerty silver foam and a sponge.
The interior paint was not affected by any of the cleaning.
Chas.
