Baden enlisted 19th, 20th, or 21st Dragoon Helmet that needs some cleaning

[ww1czechlegion]

Hello,

Here's a decent Baden private purchase enlisted Dragoon helmet that I picked up a couple of years ago, but never posted here.

All of the Neusilber fittings have been painted in old gold paint a very long time ago. Maybe some kid did this, who knows?

The paint brush culprit also painted the correct mounted troops brass chinscales with this old gunky gold paint. What a mess!

I can scrape some of the thick paint off with my fingernail.

Brian gave me some tips for trying to clean it. It will take some time and patience, but I think it will eventually come out looking quite nice.

I added the Baden & National colors kokardes, as there were none on it when I acquired the helmet.

It looks like there never was any sort of a support plate inside of the helmet for the spike base.

There is no visible maker marking. I even looked on the underside of the liner, and found nothing.

Best Regards,

Alan

 

[ww1czechlegion]

Photo shows the spike base where I have scraped off some of the old gold paint with my thumbnail.

Best Regards,

Alan

 

[SkipperJohn]

It is a shame that this helmet was painted. As my Dad used to say:

There ain't no fixin' stupid.

I look forward to seeing the finished product.
I would assume that the pearl ring and the chinscales will be the hardest part.
A mild paint remover may make easy work of the Wappen.
Good luck!

John :bravo:

 

[ww1czechlegion]

Many thanks John, for your nice comment, I appreciate it!

Yes, they even slopped some gold paint on the liner, as can be seen in the photo. #-o

I'll probably wait until this summer, with warmer temps outside to use some mild paint thinner or water based paint remover.

The chin scales are going to be a real pain to clean.

Best Wishes,

Alan