Basic issues......

Eichenblatt

Eichenblatt

Member
Hello Dear Gentlemen,

tell the novice how to clean (if at all) and maintain pickelhaubes (leather, metal parts, etc.)

I remain with due respect
 
You will get some great advice here for sure. There are different theories or preferences on what to do.

I simply dust and lightly clean if necessary with light damp rag. Others will polish the metal parts to get them to look like they did way back when. I like the patina that has built up over the years so I Leave mine alone.

The main thing to NOT do is use any type of preservative or chemicals, and for sure not a leather cleaner or softener. And for sure do NOT apply a lacquer as one old reference said to do.

others will jump in.

James
 
There was a very good article on kaisersbunker.com, but unfortunately the Link is not working from my ipad. Maybe it is different from computers, so please try it by yourself. You will find it here: Kaiser's Bunker Guide to Conservation and Display of Antique Headgear
I would also use just a damp-dry cloth, being careful with the fabric. For heavily soiled brass parts, a trained restorer recommended a paste made from whiting with alcohol, applied with a soft brush. When the alcohol has evaporated, the chalk can be brushed off with a soft brush without leaving any residue.
 
I fulltime comply with James, these more than 100 hundred years old objects have a beautiful patina, preserve it, om the other side I have seen silver fittings on haubes that had resided in homes of smokers that turned out discolored by smoke to an incredible yellow finish that really needs cleaning..,
 
Thank you all for the advice.

Unfortunately, the link to the article about cleaning and maintenance in the kaisersbunker does not work for me either.
 
Eichenblatt said:
Thank you all for the advice.

Unfortunately, the link to the article about cleaning and maintenance in the kaisersbunker does not work for me either.
Click to expand...
I looked for that article on Tony's website too yesterday, it also didn't work for me too.
While it did work the last time I read it, some year ago.
 
Welcome to the forum. Some obvious recommendations which were also mentioned in the Bunker Article….keep your helmets away from direct sunlight, over head lighting or heat sources. Support your helmets so that the weight of the helmet does no rest on the visors. I use coffee cans to support mine. Use a humidity gauge especially in winter to watch/keep track of humidity in your collection room or wherever your collection is kept. Use a feather duster to dust your helmets every few months.
 
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Most of the problems found with leather Pickelhauben come from drying out and shrinking. Dry conditions or hot situations cause the leather to dry out, lose natural oils, stiffen and shrink. In OR’s helmets, extreme dryness causes “red rot” where the liner basically dissolves into red dust.
Shrinkage causes broken visor trim, bent spines, broken solder pins, missing shellac and sunken shell tops. In addition, shrinkage breaks the stitches holding the visors on to the shell. The shell itself shrinks inward until it looks like a deflated football. An excessively hot environment will melt the shellac finish on the outside of the helmet and cause it to run. Cloth uberzugs in these hot conditions, will absorb the melted shellac and stick to the helmet. These are my observations after 4 decades of collecting and restoring these helmets.
 
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Personally I always remember that it took over 100 Years to create the patina and it is in my responsibility to preserve the status quo. It is a piece of history and should be handled with respect and without modern materials.
 
I would suggest looking at the Pickelhaube Restoration section of the forum. I know that I posted a before and after of a Berlin Police helmet that I restored. There are a lot of good "do" and "don't" information to be found there.
 
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