Nazi Helmet Restoration: The Finished Helmet

Restoration of a German M-40 Helmet of WW II
(Click to see larger image)

I have finished my project for the week:  restoring a German M-40 helmet from World War II.

I spent yesterday spray painting the helmet, then lightly rubbing it out with very fine steel wool.  I am very pleased with the results, as I have never before successfully spray painted anything in my life.

This morning I installed the new liner, a reproduction of the liner used in original German helmets.  After that, I applied the Wehrmacht decals - eagle on the left side, national colors on the right side.

The spray paint that I used and recommend is Apefelgrun [Apple Green] from 1944 Militaria.  The color is actually more of an army olive green.

The helmet's original appearance, as I received it from the seller in Europe, can be viewed here.

Note:  My interest in Nazis is strictly a historical interest.  I in no way endorse their cause or hateful ideology.

Nazi Helmet Primed for Paint

The more I read and learn about the Nazis, the more I dislike them.  But they did wear some really cool helmets.

My helmet, purchased from Europe, has now been stripped of paint and rust, and today I primed it with Rust-Oleum Rust Transformer.  This stuff is supposed to neutralize any remaining rust by chemically changing it to something inert, over which you can safely apply paint.

I found a place where I could spray paint the helmet -- no, not the kitchen table, the backyard garden!  I put it on a flat, aluminum paint pan and started spraying.  Of course, my first efforts created drips, so I had to use steel wool to wear those drips away, then respray.  If you aren't used to spray painting, you must learn patience, one thin coat at a time, to avoid drips.  After drying, I lightly rubbed with fine grade steel wool to smooth the surface.

Tomorrow it will be time to apply the olive green paint (some call it field gray).  The primer coat gave me some valuable practice today.  Once I finish that, I can apply military decals and the inner liner and chin strap.  When Halloween arrives, I can wear the helmet and go to the party as a Democrat.  Har har!

Nazi Helmet Restoration Progress: the Stripped Helmet

I have spent several days this week stripping my German M40 of paint and rust.  The pre-restoration helmet is here.  The stripped helmet is at the left.  (The M40 designation refers to the year the model was created.  World War I helmets included the M16 and M18, and more modern helmets were the M35, M40 and M42.  The differences in the last three models are subtle.)

I notice that the rust remover dissolves the rust, but leaves behind a dark mark where the rust used to be. This can be ground off, but I have neither the time nor patience to do that, and, it isn't necessary.

Next step:  priming the helmet.  I am going to use a Rust-Oleum product that supposedly turns rust into something else that can be painted over.  If any small amounts of rust remain, the Rust-Oleum should kill it and prevent more rust from forming.  I'll give it two coats.

The question is, where can I spray paint my helmet with the primer and later the paint?  I suppose the kitchen table is out of the question.

I have a nice work bench in my garage.  Unfortunately, it is covered with storage boxes.  Maybe I can remove them temporarily.  I have to paint the helmet when my wife is gone for the day, probably on a shopping trip to San Jose.  Otherwise, I will have to paint it under an extreme barrage of nagging, warnings of doom and destruction, and loud verbal expressions of angst, fear, horror and disaster.

Restoring a World War II German Helmet

German M-40 Army Helmet

I bought this German M-40 helmet from a source in Czechoslovakia.  In the pictures it appears pristine, but is actually freckled with rust spots.

The liner, bottom right, is not correct.  This is the type of liner used in World War I German helmets, as well as various European army helmets.

The helmet was painted black after WWII and used as a Civil Defense helmet.  Since the paint and liner are not original, it is permissible to restore the helmet.  You would never want to restore an authentic German army helmet, with the original paint, decals and liner, no matter how poor their condition.  You would be altering an historical artifact, which greatly decreases its interest and value.

This morning I removed the liner, held inside the helmet by three pins.  The liner smelled badly, like old sweat or body odor, indicating it is indeed aged.  The inside of the helmet was fairly rusted, worse than the outside.  I applied a rust remover (Naval Jelly) and got rid of most of it.  I will have to buy some steel wool today and scrub away at what remains.

Next, I washed the helmet and dried it, and applied a paint stripper to both inside and out.  It loosened the paint, but I can see it will take more than one application.  The stuff contains methylene chloride, a rather nasty solvent.  I will have to begin using thicker rubber gloves, as this stuff burns right through the thin ones I was using.  This is going to involve some work.  Ugh.

After I strip off as much paint and rust as possible, I will prime the helmet with Rustoleum, then paint it with German field gray paint.  After that, I will apply German army decals and replace the liner with a good reproduction of the type used in German helmets, an eight finger affair made of goat skin.  Right now, that seems to be days away.

It's difficult to tell whether this helmet ever saw combat.  I doubt it. Thousands of helmet shells were stamped out in advance of need, and many remain in Germany and elsewhere.  Reenactors and hobbyists can buy one of these shells and have it restored to the original condition of a new Nazi helmet.  I am doing my own restoration.  When it is done, I plan to invade the Sudentland.  Or not.

UPDATE:  See the restored helmet here.  I have one last task to do, and that is to seal the decals to prevent them from rubbing off and from scratches.  I have ordered a spray can of Dammar varnish to do that, the same varnish used on the original helmets.

My German Helmet and the Nazi Invasion of Russia In 1941

Reproduction German Helmet of WW II

My reproduction German helmet arrived this week.  The color is perfect, a kind of gray-green.  It is heavier than my uncle's German police helmet.  I tried it on, and was immediately aware of the weight.  No doubt German soldiers developed strong neck muscles wearing these.  Holding the helmet, I am aware of the cold steel, the heavy weight, and the smell of the leather liner.

Okay, so now I have a German helmet.  What do I do now, invade Poland?

Nah, I'll just keep it as a historical reference as I study the history of World War II, one of my interests.

I have been watching a documentary series from 1974, "The Unknown War," narrated by Burt Lancaster.  It is all about the Nazi invasion of Russia, Operation Barbarossa, which began in 1941.  According to the series narration, Hitler intended to destroy the Soviet Union and exterminate its populations, and then incorporate the lands into Germany.  The Russians had ample reason to fight like fanatics, as surrender was not an option.

The series covers great battles such as the battles of Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad and Kursk.  Due to Nazi encirclement of major Russian cities, millions of Russians starved to death rather than surrender.  Around 20 million Russians died, of war wounds, starvation and freezing in the bitter winters.  Nevertheless, the Nazi invasion failed.  Hitler all but exhausted his military resources in his obsessive desire to destroy Russia.  Hundreds of thousands of German soldiers died or surrendered, and many thousands of tanks and aircraft were lost in Hitler's vain effort.  There's no telling how WWII might have turned out, had Hitler not invaded Russia, and wasted so many German lives and assets, instead of directing those assets against the allied forces.  Russia had a formal peace agreement with Germany and would not have fought with the allies, absent the 1941 invasion.

Earlier this week, I watched "Escape From Sobibor," based on the true story of 600 Jewish prisoners in a Nazi extermination camp, who rebelled against their captors, killing eleven German guards and officers before opening the gates and fleeing, in mass, into the nearby forest.  About half survived the surrounding mine field and machine gun fire, and most of those were later captured and executed.  About 50 of the prisoners eluded capture and survived the war.

There is no escaping the fact that the Nazis were entirely evil.  If ever there was a just and necessary war, it was the allied war on the fascist powers of World War II.  It is instructional to study the depths of depravity to which men and nations can descend.  The goal, as always, is to learn how we might prevent such tyranny from happening again.