#89 Rescued M17 Camo Helmet

[RonR]

This M17 was painted all black when found at a Charlotte Flea Market in 1969.

After a some difficult work, the camo underneath was somewhat rescued. No hope for the interior.

Profile view:

[RonR]

Left side view:

[RonR]

Right side view:

[RonR]

Front view:

[RonR]

Rear view:

[RonR]

Top view:

[RonR]

The black interior:

[C. Roelens]

Good rescue Ron.

[1corps]

Excellent work! Mike.

[Bernhard]

Still a nice one !!

Regards

Bernhard

[Adam S.]

Very well done! What process did you use?

[RonR]

Very well done! What process did you use?

Back then used acetone (nail polish remover) and nearly got chemical pnuemonia, so one must be really careful when using this powerful stuff.

Thanks for asking.

Best regards,

[Adam S.]

Thanks Ron. It's good to learn from the masters!

[BryanD]

Great work.
What did you use to remove the old black paint? I have had very good luck with "Goof Off". It takes the top layer without doing much damage to the original paint. I use fine steel wool and work on small areas at a time. As mentioned before you have done very good work.

[kiwi1917]

Original factory finishes were baked on to help the paint adhere. You're fortunate the camo adhered and didn't come off. It must have been applied when the surface was clean and maybe slightly roughened so it would stick.

I've removed spray or brush on black paint from a few helmets from time to time, and found using a water base stripper that works slowly over several hours (or even a day) works well. The slower the chemical reaction, the better the control in stripping over painted helmets. 3M used to make a water-base slow acting stripper which I like. Haven't used it in several years and I don't know if it's still available at the present time.