worn spikes and parts on M15's

[Anonymous]

What is the consesus on bare metal spikes and bases on m15's .I just re-did a kugel, plate and parts as they were painted a lovely gold .and placed on a fiberglass shell .I removed all the original parts cleaned them up as much as possible and the painted them a steingrau (looked feldgrau when I started.) . I lan on redoing this piece again as the wappen is almost un readable so I have to strip it. The rest of the parts are ok.
Any thoughts?
Mark :?

 

[b.loree]

Hey Mark:
I believe that most of the M15 spikes and fittings were painted. However, I have come accross spikes and helmet plates that seemed to never have had any grey paint applied. I do believe that spikes intended for an M15 Lobster tail style helme were not painted . The steel on many of these helmets was left plain and was intended for an uberzug to be worn on the helme. I think that it is possible that a regular M15 spike could lose all of its paint. When removing paint may I suggest using water based paint remover? I got this tip from Tony years ago. With water based paint remover you can control the process by using water to dilute the stripper and stop the stripping. Brian