Hey everyone I got an M42 helmet and it’s about to arrive in a few days. As you can see in the pictures, it has a bit of pitting and rusting. So what i am wanting to do is restore it in order to preserve it plus it will be a fun project. I know I need auto body filler to fill it the pitting but whats a good method to get the rust off? Also I know I must texture the helmet so I am getting aluminum oxide soonish along with color accurate paint. As you can see the helmet is gray so I am going to make it the same/closest color I can find on warhats and make it look factory new. i have restored M1 helmets to a ww2 style finish with the right paint and cork but I know this will take more effort. i would just like pointers and tips from you all. One method i’m thinking will be effective for texturing (like I did with M1 helmets) is to spray auto primer and sprinkle the aluminum oxide granules afterwards and spray it with the helmet spray paint. here are pics of the shell.

Click to enlarge the picture