Cleaning a M17 Helmet

[reinking71]

Recently picked up a M17 helmet that had spent many years in an old garage the liner, except for some pieces between the liner and band, and the chinstrap ar long gone. The paint and liner band have almost no rust and what looks to be original paint. What is the best way to remove the years of bird crap and grime? Soap and water or something else?

Thank you

[juoneen]

Can you show us its condition in a photo? How bad are we talking here...?
I know this : pigeon crap is highly acidic and eats paint , where some small birds feces may not be as bad....we need to see exactly what you are talking about first.

[reinking71]

Wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be, a little soap and water did the trick.

[reinking71]

Here are a few more pics:

[juoneen]

Be careful about any more cleaning of this , as there are factory stenciled stamps on the paint that can be quickly damaged or removed by cleaning inside...I would have only washed the spots on the OUTSIDE only where the birds pooped, and left the inside as it was....my question to you is why ask for help and then do it yourself anyway before getting an answer back... that seems to undermine your own request. (although looks OK now, you did not show how it looked before you cleaned it,I think it's best to...always take shots when items are found as they are even if you decide to clean the item later.)
This helm also has paint spatter from when the house was painted with a roller, and is typical, and left alone does not hurt the value left as is.

[bodes]

I agree, don't over clean it....You risk taking away a big part of it's charm if you mess with it too much....Bodes

[Ironcrown]

It's nice, leave it as is