200 helmets from Berlin battlefield 9th army first update!
yes yes its about time we will list the first helmets from the 200 we got in recently from Berlin battlefield 9th army
the helmets came from most likely a surrender site as all liners were removed before they got stacked in piles under the ground.
we started cleaning them some weeks ago and i can tell you its a lot of handwork!
The helmets first needs to be cleaned in water by hand, big rust parts needs to be removed to prepare them for a bath of oxalic acid ( that takes away surface rust) so remaining paint will become visible, every helmet one bucked, first session about 1 hour, then clean again by hand, then again a new longer session in the oxalic about 3 hours, then clean again, then again a 10 hour session, untill you reach the result you want or what is maximum possible on the helmet, after that we preserve many helmets with parrafine or renaissance wax depending on the condition of the helmet and how much paint or decal is preserved.
we will make some youtube videos about the proces so stay tuned for some footage anytime soon.
this round we will upload 21 helmets M40s and M42 helmets who all have been boiled in paraffine (candle wax) that preserves the helmet the best possible way, they will NEVER rust again and will be ready to go in a collection safely.
this week 20 more will follow those are the ones who are a bit better quality like paint, camo’s decals etc. those will be hand waxed and not boiled so we are sure the best colour/quality comes out as possible.
Sizes for the helmets we did not measure yet, this can be done on request in the future as its a lot of extra work for me.
Below some photos of the works being done, and how the helmets had been found.
Greetings Bas