WWII Helmets color

[Hondo]

Does any one know the type of paint done on Army and Navy helmets?
Some Navy helmets were blue, and we all know Army as green.
I have my Dad's Navy helmet, It has white house paint all over it :rage:
I have to take off the old paint soon and hope the original blue paint is still there, but if I mess up, it will need to be repainted, anyone have ideas on how to fix this?
Helmets were cast iron? I have both, the inside liner helmet, I want to fix this before I join any reactors events.

[BellyTank]

The helmets were pressed mild steel I would think- cast iron would not be at all suitable- heavy, thick and brittle.

You can buy repro OD spray paint for reenactor helmets, so you can probably by the USN gray too...

You just need to have a scout around the internet for it.



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[Hondo]

Duhhh yeah right "Steel" I don't know what I was thinking of "cast iron":p
I have wire brush, and sanding tools, its got thick white paint all over it (Those darn kids!) hope to do the best I can to remove old paint, thanks for the tips:cool:

[BellyTank]

Use some paint stripper and take it back to bare metal-

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[shamus]

I don't know about navy helmets but army helmets were not just green. The paint had something in it to give it an almost sandy feel.

I don't remember who, but if you do a search, there's a guy that restores them for reinactors. He might just sell the paint.

[Mycroft]

I don't know about navy helmets but army helmets were not just green. The paint had something in it to give it an almost sandy feel.

I don't remember who, but if you do a search, there's a guy that restores them for reinactors. He might just sell the paint.

Sand, gave them the feel. I remeber reading in at least World War I, they would paint a helmet then while wet put it in sand to make it have a matte or non-shiney surfice.

[BellyTank]

Crushed cork-

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[MrBern]

Are you sure its house paint? Was it painted white for an honorguard or MP duty?
You should check some websites, you might destroy the value of the helmet if you pull off the original paint.

Some of the helmet restoration sites sell crushed cork.

[Bogie1943]

I have painted about 5 WWII era helmets in my time, I mix my own custom paint, because I could never find a color paint that satisfied me. I also crush and mix the cork myself, which is the fun part. I question I have is what type of paint can I use on an A-2 that will stick, what the heck did they use?

[Mycroft]

Hey Bogie, here is a previous threat on painting A-2's and leathe jackets: http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=4493

[Hondo]

Are you sure its house paint? Was it painted white for an honorguard or MP duty?
You should check some websites, you might destroy the value of the helmet if you pull off the original paint.

Some of the helmet restoration sites sell crushed cork.

Oh yeah its house paint, exterior white, I think the kids painted it to look like MP helmets, I'm not upset at them, I just want it returned to original glory.
It was blue from the Navy, and now that some of you mention it, I do remember it feeling sandy, rough, not smooth.
Thanks to all for the feedback:cheers1:

[MrBern]

heres a little restoration page detailing the cork texture
http://www.toppots.net/helmet_restoration.html

[Patrick]

Click here: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/camouflage_database.htm

Towards the bottom of the page is a picture of the Navy destroyer Drayton. That may be the color you are looking for. Notice how the ship blends in with the color of the sea in the background. Navy camouflage color schemes evolved a lot as the war progressed, but this color remained the same on all horizontal surfaces that would be viewed from the air for obvious reasons. So it made a lot of sense to also paint the helmets the same color. It looks like a dark gray with maybe a slight tint of blue to me. What say ye? HTH.

P.

[Hondo]

Click here: http://www.shipcamouflage.com/camouflage_database.htm

Towards the bottom of the page is a picture of the Navy destroyer Drayton. That may be the color you are looking for. Notice how the ship blends in with the color of the sea in the background. Navy camouflage color schemes evolved a lot as the war progressed, but this color remained the same on all horizontal surfaces that would be viewed from the air for obvious reasons. So it made a lot of sense to also paint the helmets the same color. It looks like a dark gray with maybe a slight tint of blue to me. What say ye? HTH.

P.

Thanks guys, my father served on early model destroyer USS Waters, (Four stack) Commissioned in 1917, decommissioned in 1945, I recall my dads helmet as a kid in "light blue" thanks for the link :cool:
MrBern, I'll keep that site in mind, I think I can strip off the paint, Thanks again guys! :cheers1:

[JD Boswell]

Two ways you can do it.

1. You can use wet autobody sandpaper to remove the top coat of paint to try to retain the original paint and cork texture. Slow and steady will help you remove the outer coat. Since it was your Dad's, I'd try to preserve the finish and original paint.

2. If you want to strip it down to bare metal, prime it and recork it.

The best way to strip the paint off (If the chin straps are no longer on the helmet) is to go to Home Depot and buy one of their 5gal plastic orange buckets with the lid and a can of Crystal Drano or Lye.

Wear chemical gloves and protective eyeware ly is caustic!

Fill the bucket with water, add the lye. hook the helmet bail with a coathanger (so you can easily remove it from the bucket) and submerge the helmet into the lye water and let it sit for 1-2 days.

The paint will just wash off of the helmet and it will be clean as a whistle.

Refinished 2 helmets and stripped all the small pieces of my WWII MBT jeep trailer this way.

If you need new chin straps, atthefront.com and bayonetinc.com have them.

Best of luck and remember that the lye is caustic so play safe!