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Has anyone used Oxalic acid on a helmet?
Hey all, was wondering if anyone has used Oxalic acid on a helmet before and what an appropriate mixture is? I found this at an estate (have not bought at this time), and while the decals are fake at first look it appears the shell is authentic though the lot and maker are obscured by paint. Estate seller is kinda snippy and not feeling like sending me a ton of photos so apologies for lack of those.
Can't tell if the paint is period re-paint or post war because it's certainly not green in my opinion. Looks like the crown is green, although faded. Could just be the lighting.
I'm thinking the liner looks OK at first glance too - D-ring is the appropriate squared edge for a single aluminum liner band.
Thought it might be a fun little restoration project on the cheap, just something different to try. I was gonna offer maybe a couple hundred, scrape the decals off and give it an acid bath and see what I get. Would love all your thoughts. Thanks!
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Disregard this post. The estate seller was too busy arguing with me over text message whether it was "something I would want" and sold it to a "regular customer" of his. Nice.
Even if you got it, this helmet is not a candidate for Oxalic acid. The acid removes rust and really is only used on ground dug helmets that are heavily corroded.
Quote from MAP on July 11, 2020, 3:43 amEven if you got it, this helmet is not a candidate for Oxalic acid. The acid removes rust and really is only used on ground dug helmets that are heavily corroded.
Correct Mike . . . very gentle paint stripper Andrew would've done the trick! (not left on very long)
Michael
I was fairly positive I saw a YouTube channel using Oxalic acid to remove a top layer of paint but I must be getting it mixed up with something else.
I wouldn't waste my time with such "operations"
Quote from sysyphus on July 11, 2020, 3:24 pmI wouldn't waste my time with such "operations"
Indeed , a complete waste of time. If you want to have fun with pulling decals off and stripping paint by all means but I really don't see the point of posting it here on the Vault. The point we want to put across with the website and this platform is collect untouched stuff.