Pickelhaube straightening.

[Naprawiacz]

I used water with spirit vinegar to soften the skin.Then I straightened the skin with my fingers and heated it with a warm stream of air.Tomorrow after drying detailed straightening.

 

[PawelGPysz.]

Great job, I also have a few, although a little less deformed to straighten, but I will use a different method of softening, which suggested to me a friend.
Regards, Paweł.

 

[MG34NZ]

Looks great, well done

 

[ccj]

Impressive work

 

[Sandmann]

Great job Wojtek! How did you treat the cracks in the paint layer? Did you remove it completely or were these already repaired in the post work photos?

 

[Naprawiacz]

Great job Wojtek! How did you treat the cracks in the paint layer? Did you remove it completely or were these already repaired in the post work photos?

Sandy I removed the entire shellac layer and the skin alone remained except for the visors

 

[Naprawiacz]

Great job, I also have a few, although a little less deformed to straighten, but I will use a different method of softening, which suggested to me a friend.
Regards, Paweł.

Paweł you have to approach each helmet individually.With my working technique you have to expect that the shellac may fall off.
Wojtek

 

[b.loree]

Wojtek, how much vinegar do you add to the water? What is the ratio? I have used just plain water but this causes a black stain on the inside of the shell as the shellac bleeds through. Great job!

 

[Naprawiacz]

Wojtek, how much vinegar do you add to the water? What is the ratio? I have used just plain water but this causes a black stain on the inside of the shell as the shellac bleeds through. Great job!

Brian I used 10% spirit vinegar in a ratio of 10 liters of water to 1 liter of vinegar.I immersed the helmet several times entirely in this solution until the material was soft.I dissolve all the shellac crumbs in 90% spirit. After one day of dissolving, the glue from the primer comes out,and after two weeks the original shellac. With this shellac I paint helmets,but only when it is already primed with glue primer,otherwise the shellac will seep through and make stains on the inside.

 

[b.loree]

Thanks for the information Wojtek...I will write that down so I do not have to ask again. I have a second question.....what is glue primer?? Is this a product that you buy? So...you are saying that originally the helmet shells were primed with glue (horse hide ?) and then the shellac was applied? This would explain why the original shellac did not bleed through the leather shell. Thanks for your help.

 

[Naprawiacz]

Thanks for the information Wojtek...I will write that down so I do not have to ask again. I have a second question.....what is glue primer?? Is this a product that you buy? So...you are saying that originally the helmet shells were primed with glue (horse hide ?) and then the shellac was applied? This would explain why the original shellac did not bleed through the leather shell. Thanks for your help.

Brian all bodies were painted first with glue primer and then shellac.See the structure of the shellac that came off the helmet.On the other side of the splatter is brown in color.A recipe for glue primer.This is a modification of a recipe from 1845,which my colleague Christopher and I adapted to our needs a few years ago.Ingredients:
1.Quick-drying Vikol type wood glue
2.Paper glue for flexibility
3.Black from the vines or soot from the chimney produced when firing coal-this is the best, but it is hard to find.
4.Literally a few drops of water.
Mix all the ingredients together until the right consistency is reached.Apply the primer with a spatula.The thinner the layer, the faster it dries.For more difficult items, apply several layers.Drying time depending on the temperature.At plus 20 degrees celsius with the object exposed to the sun is a few minutes.After the glue dries, I use two methods of sanding with dry or wet sandpaper.The wet method is less labor-intensive.Soak the sponge with sandpaper in water all the time and wipe the object with circular motions.Important note the sponge must be wet all the time.Don't be afraid of water!Try this method on a piece of leather.Once you learn it, it will be a pleasure to work.After applying several layers and sanding, the whole thing is painted several times with dissolved shellac.In the last photo the pickelhaube before grinding.After the work is done, you can store the glue after adding a few drops of water in an airtight container for a long time until the next game.

 

[Sandmann]

Wojtek, you know I'm a purist
Do you know the original recipe of your 1845 primer? It seems to work great for smoothing the surface

 

[Naprawiacz]

Wojtek, you know I'm a purist
Do you know the original recipe of your 1845 primer? It seems to work great for smoothing the surface

Sandy I no longer remember how it was in the original,because my composition was modified due to the fact that most of the original ingredients are no longer produced.I use available substitutes.I remember that the basic glue was rabbit glue.

 

[Naprawiacz]

Sandy in the photos you have my recent work done by this method.Only one of them had shellac stripped to bare skin,and the rest was lined with concoction.The advantage of this method is that after years nothing cracks.

 

[Sandmann]

Looks great Wojtek. Your restoration skill is undoubtedly impressive

 

[ccj]

Impressive display.

 

[b.loree]

Thanks Wojtek for the photos and detailed explanation, I will try your method. Now that I know primer was used I understand why the bottom side of the old pieces of shellac are brown.

 

[Sandmann]

What I was able to research in old books when I wrote my article about pickelhauben lacquers. glue water or ocher-colored linseed oil paints were used as a primer. The latter could be the reason for the brown color.

 

[Naprawiacz]

What I was able to research in old books when I wrote my article about pickelhauben lacquers. glue water or ocher-colored linseed oil paints were used as a primer. The latter could be the reason for the brown color.

That's right Sandy,that's where the different primer colours come out.

 

[b.loree]

On two occasions, I have also found original shellac that was white under the black outer colour.