Heer or KM decal

[-Peters-]

I got this M42 that i bought off Colorado here on WAF. When it came it was a sad sad panda, rusting away for eternity..
Now i have cleaned the helmet and stopped the rust attack that was going on on this poor fella. The decal came out like this, let me know; Heer or KM?

[PIERRE.H]

For sure a genuine toned Heer
Pierre

[Colorado]

Nice looking Heer decal. Glad you like the helmet.

It had sat in the Veteran's shed for many years unfortunately. It was likely a very nice and very complete untouched helmet when he returned from war with it.

[-Peters-]

Thanks guys I will post some photos of before and after later, gonna use your before-photos Jeff, i hope it's okay. I am very pleased with the helmet, it's a lovely M42. Sadly the chinstrap buckle has come off and the stitches on the liner has come open. The liner and chinstrap really came to life after a treatment, pretty soft again

[helmuthunter]

Very nice toned Heer decal IMO. Jeff sure knows where to find them, got a salty M40 heer SD from him recently. Im not playing with it! congrats Johnno.

[-Peters-]

Still need a bit of work around the decal. Helmet has a grey'ish color, also why i asked if it could be a KM decal


Here it is before:




And after:

[morel5000]

Hi Peters,

nice work . How did you clean it?

Thanks,
Michel

[sscrooge]

looks a really nice heer m42 now

[-Peters-]

I used a mild concentration of oxalic acid mixed with warm water (about 1:20), soaked it for about 5 minutes and kept it wet while i gently used a kitchen sponge to remove the rust. I only used force on spots with a lot of rust and only the soft side on the decal
I was a little surprised how easy the rust at the inside of the dome came off, still with the original paint left including a dome stamp.

[Colorado]

John - Your helmet and Peter's helmet came from the same lady that was cleaning out a shed for her father-in-law after he died. Yours held up better for some reason.

Peter had a "wanted" on the estand for such a helmet to serve as a project. It pays off to post on the "wanted" part of estand sometimes.

Great work Peter.

[hcliffe]

Good work on this project. Can we see a before and after of the liner? Also, where does one find Oxalic acid?

[basunfan]

Very Nice Peter, Nice Heer. I have a KM like that the could use the same treatment, but i don't have the gut's to do that, and i live i Jylland, otherwise i would have ask you to help me

[-Peters-]

@Jeff, it certainly did pay off to post in the Wanted section!

Good work on this project. Can we see a before and after of the liner? Also, where does one find Oxalic acid?

The liner is still wet, so i will try and take a shot of it tomorrow, as the picture wouldn't be fair. I buy oxalic acid in my local shopping mall (for basunfan; i Føtex), they have everything i need I don't know the rules in the US, but my guess is that i can be found in such places as Wallmart.

@basunfan, i would not recommend doing this on a good lid for a first timer. Not to sound like a big shot or anything, but i have practiced on quite a lot of old shells just to get an idea on what to do and how far you can go. I will send you a PM on what to do

[Adam S.]

AMAZING restoration! Well done!

[blau250]

Great retoration job. Nice SD Heer helm.
Congrats