Prussia Cuirasse of Garde du Corpe?

[David Peace]

Hello Gentlemen,

I haven't had the opportunity to visit this forum recently, but I am glad to see that you, Holmes, have got a positive identification of your cuirass from the authors of the Imperial German Cavalry book. I will resist the temptation to make a quip about detective work!!

I like the Cavalry book, but like all reference books it cannot go into the sort of detail some of us would like, and there will always be questions posed. I suppose that in order to appeal to a wide readership and therefore be both affordable and commercially viable it covers a very large subject in a single, albeit hefty, volume. It has some beautiful photos, such as the cuirassier helmet damaged by a French sabre cut during the Franco Prussian War, and very informative text. It is certainly better than anything I else have found on the subject. If only Moritz Ruhl publishing could have included photographs instead of drawings!

In terms of cleaning, I have been carefully polishing a 1867 cuirassier ORs helmet that had been painted pale green. Once the paint was removed with a dilute solution of stripper I set to work with very fine wire wool and 3-in-1 oil. This produced a reasonable finish, which I have since improved with a cloth duster and chrome polish.

I haven't quite finished the work on my helmet or cuirass, but will post some pictures in due course.

Kind regards to all who are following this and thanks to Holmes for starting a very interesting topic.

[Holmes_9740]

Greeting all.

It was way back in February 2013 that I first started the journey of investigating this Cuirass; it has been a slow but interesting journey.

After much thought, and research, I decided to start the restoration myself. After just over a week I am showing the current progress on the Breast plate along side the untouched back plate.; I actually felt quite pleased with the comparison.

The Breast plate is finished but for a final polishing which will include the edge strips, as yet cleaned but not polished. The edge strips and fittings were found to be gold plated. The main problem was that not wanting to risk damaging the original liner all work has to be done dry.

The work has been hours of painstaking work by hand, with abrasive paper, and a dremel type tool, taking extreme care at every stage.; once I had gained knowledge and confidence by taking the finish to 1200 grit, by hand, I employed small polishing wheels on a flexible drive to aid with the polishing of the main areas but all the edgings and folds and seams had to be done by hand with tiny bits of paper and lots of aching fingers.

I now intend to get the back plate to the same condition before final polishing of both. The knowledge gained on the first piece means that the second will take a fraction of the time but there is still a lot of work to complete the restoration.

The main problem was knowing how far to take it.; obviously one isn't going to get a clear mirror finish given the amount of pitting.; I feel it is about right at the moment but there is scope for further polishing if any one is brave enough!

I think the shoulder straps will clean up without the need for repair as long, as the leather responds to the special treatment it is currently having; replacing the leather waist straps will be the most difficult part. I don't think I will try to repair the liner but I will assess that more later on.

It is an interesting project of the type I enjoy. Wish me luck. Any comments or criticisms are welcome. :-)

Edited September 4, 2014 by Holmes_9740

[Holmes_9740]

I thought it might be of interest to others to give a bit more information about the processes employed in this restoration project.

I will add at this point that I am experienced in antique restoration, mainly furniture, and have a strong archaeological interest in preservation so my approach is always on the cautious side.

The images at the beginning of this thread show the Cuirasse in it's "as found" state and the previous post shows the comparison between the almost complete breast plate and the original back plate.

The experience learned from the breast plate has greatly assisted and speeded up the process for the back plate.

Firstly I used a wire wheel in an electric drill to remove the worst of the loose rust.

Then I used 60 and 80 grit flap wheels, in the drill, to attack the harder rust.

The use of a flexible shaft is a great help in controlling the work process.

The result of that work is shown in this image, though the light gives it a shinier appearance that the rust brown finish that is actually there.

The next process is back to hand work with 120 grit emery paper and lots of rubbing, then 180 grit emery paper. ( I would have used 240 but didn't have any to hand.) The more work you put in at this stage will help in the next stages.

Then I focused my attention on the tricky, awkward bits around the edges, neck and arm holes.

These are very difficult and there are no short cuts here other than a lot of use of the Dremel, which is a Godsent!.

I used small 60 grit flap wheels, tiny wire wheels and nylon bristled wheels with grit coated bristles.; then lots of painful finger work to get in the difficult bits.

That was a long day's work!, the result is shown in the next image.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Holmes_9740