What is happening?

[Stuart Bates]

Below is a closeup of the chin scales of my 1818 pattern Heavy Dragoon helmet. Can anyone tell me what is happening to the links and what to do about it?

Stuart

[Graham Stewart]

Stuart,

Oops, looks like some form of corrosion is setting in and if not arrested would probably cause damage that can't be reversed. You really need to determine what sort it is before you go about arresting it, for instance is it water based corrosion, dis-similar metal corrosion, chemical(sweat) corrosion. Once you determine what type then you can tackle it, as no two types are the same.

My advice would be send this photo to the National Army Museum in London to their preservation department to see if they've come across similar problems and they may be able to advise what to do. Failing that try a museum or university/business that deals with preservation techniques within your region that may be able to help, but it may cost you. Still I think you would rather pay out for this to be preserved rather than see it slowly corrode away.

Graham.

[Stuart Bates]

Hi Graham,

I have sent the photo to a new contact at the Imperial War museum and to an old contact at the national Army Museum. Hopefully, something will come of all of this. Over here I don't know of anyone who specialises in such restorations but I am going to ask a couple of dealers that I am on good terms with. If necessary I would ship the chinscales to the UK where there are some specialists.

Stuart

[Riley1965]

Stuart,

The discoloring looks similar to that found on copper.

Best,

Doc

[Graham Stewart]

Hi Stuart,

Looking at the bits I can see it appears to be an officers pattern helmet, and something is attacking the gilt finish to the chin scales. Hopefully something can be done pretty soon as it could spread. Considering the age of the helmet is it in a controlled enviroment i.e. cased with moisture/temp control? Sounds a bit O.T.T., but as you live in Australia it could be climatic.

Graham.

[Stuart Bates]

Graham,

strictly speaking my collection is not in a controlled environment but my house was designed by an architect who specializes in energy efficient housing. The house never gets too hot nor too cold and the relative humidity around here is low. I plan to get a room (not air) conditioner soon.

I'll look on the net for restorers.

Stuart

[peter monahan]

Stuart

It looks as if you've got copper/brass corrosion happening, which is generally a result of atmospheric pollution but in a piece this old could be the actual composition of the metal. Either way it's specialist work.

As a short term measure I'd suggest wiping it down gently with cotton swabs or a soft cloth dampened (not wet) with distilled water and putting it into a box. Do NOT use paper towels as they have sulphur dioxide in them which becomes acid when exposed to any moisture at all. Don't seal the box 'cause if it's a result of internal contaminents you don't want to seal them in, but a closed box creates a "min-environment" of humidity and air which tends to slow corrosion.

The US National Parks Service has a great series of publications called "Conserv-O-grams" on preserving artifacts. Many are meant for museum professionals but a lot also aimed at the general public who own "old stuff". If you find someone to work on it for you, make sure she/he is a "conservator" - a very specialized (and expensive field). Good luck!

Peter

[Stuart Bates]

Thanks to all,

I am trying to locate someone, through my English contacts, who specialises in such restoration/conservations.

Stuart

[Chris Boonzaier]

I would....

Spray some WD40 in a spoon... get a cotton swab/Q-Tip... gently dab the corrosion.

It does no damage, does not repair it, but will stop the corrosion.

[Stuart Bates]

Thanks, Chris,

I'll try that and keep looking for a specialist.

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

Peter,

Just printed off the Conserve-O-Gram "Caring for Silver and Copper Alloy Objects" and, yes, this is a job for specialists.

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

Here is the result of my cleaning efforts with ammonia. I ended up using a dilution rate of 60ml of Cloudy Ammonia to 500ml of water and applied it with a soft toothbrush. I used polyurethene "cling wrap" between the leaves to protect the leather and stitching underneath. I could have taken it further but decided to match the other scales as closely as possible (both sides). The photo doesn't really do it justice but I am happy with the results.

Thanks to all who offered assistance.

Stuart

[peter monahan]

Looks great, Stuart!

Peter

[Riley1965]

Stuart,

GREAT JOB!!! That looks a lot better!!!!

Doc

[Peter_Suciu]

I forgot to ask, but did you remove the chinscales to clean them?

The results look very good. You managed to clean the corrosion without removing the patina. The results look very good.

[Stuart Bates]

Yes, I removed both sets of chinscales as I was initially going to send them to a specialist.

I placed the chinscales on an old T shirt, placed polyethylene under the leaf to be cleaned and wore nitrile gloves (Thanks Peter M for pointing me to the Conserve O Gram).

Stuart

[Stuart Bates]

Hi Doc,

I just had a look at your site and went straight to the British section - what else for me? When I saw the VC I thought how lucky can one get and how much did it cost. They fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars here in Oz but, alas, it is a museum copy. I specialize in British Headdress 1768-1914 and can't begin to understand how much research is involved in collecting militaria from around the world. I find it a full-time job with just my speciality. BTW: check this out http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=12016 if you haven't already.

Stuart

[leigh kitchen]

I used a small pointed steel hair clip to remove a bad touch of verdigris from an old "brass" badge, it took time but worked without scratching.