Hello to everyone. Since I can’t contribute much to the forum in terms of authenticating relics, I have decided to add my restoration process of a M-33 Italian helmet that was given to me by a neighbor over a decade ago. The helmet was used to feed goats. I think it had a crack on its dome and that was why it was welded (although I don’t remember the process). I had actually put some metal filler on it in the past and then just forgot about it. I used electrolysis for rust removal.

You can see the rust that is being removed by the process. I kept it going for a few days, since the process was slow and the sacrificial metal rods were not large enough.

The helmet after removing the rust and after it was primed.

I was not happy with the old filler that was in place and did not come out with electrolysis. I was told that the filler absorbs water and hence could promote rust after the helmet was painted. Hence I went ahead and chipped it away with the metal nail. I then primed it so that it doesn’t rust.

I then used a dremmel in order to remove as much of the welding as possible so that it became smoother. Once done, I primed it again to prevent rust.

The helmet after it had been filled with a metal filler then sanded and the primed a final time.

I used Fosco green spray paint and this is what it looks like after the first coat.

The helmet after being coated a few times in order to look more uniform without any patches where the primer can be seen.

I also used an infantry decal which I purchased from the war hats website.

I had read on a website that the green color can be darkened in order to resemble the color the Italians used, by using black shoe polish. I tried it on the inside of the helmet but it didn’t turn out as I wanted and hecnce I left it as is. If anyone knows the color used by them, I could give it a try and buy a matt spray version of it and try it. I don’t think I would be able to get a liner for it, since you can’t find any reproduction ones in the market and also the original pins can’t be removed like on a German one.

I hope this was helpful. If you have any questions please let me know and I will answer them.

Kind regards,

Thomas

Click to enlarge the picture