EK 1939 My 2nd class Iron Cross

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Here's my only remaining 1939 IC 2nd. Once upon a time I had another... in beautiful shape but ended up having to let it go.

Sadly someone has done a not so professional touching up job on the center. Only thing that's ever bothered me about this one.

There is a makers mark on the ring... I believe it's a 24... the lower portion of the "2" is not there but I'm at least 85-90% certain it's 24.

How I wish I could do a decent restoration job on the iron center of this one as it's a nice cross other than that.

Thanks for lookin'.

Dan

[TerryG]

Here's my 24 for you to compare.

[TerryG]

and the back

[TerryG]

24's usually have a little extra mark on the small ring...sometime an acorn or just "something"

Edited April 13, 2006 by TerryG

[joe campbell]

the 24's have a characteristically

wide frame, and they are among the

handsomest of the '39 crosses

in my humble opinion.

joe

[Hauptmann]

Hi Terry, Joe,

Thanks for checking it out. I take it it looks okay "other" than the poor paint job someone did? And can this/should this be corrected if done right and carefully?

It burns me up that especially such a potentially nice award got screwed up this way. Would love to see it back in all it's glory but not at all sure if I'd be the one to do it. Of course I most likely could not do worse than it is now. Those brush strokes especially kill me every time I see it.

Oh, I just checked the little ring and there's no sign of an extra mark. Don't know if that matters or not.

Thanks,

Dan

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

Any ideas on the value on the one I posted?

Thanks,

Dan

[Bishop]

Hello Mr. Hauptman,

It's a very nice cross, but the brush stroke and the damn ugly paint job is killing me too!

It will definitely wipe out the entire value of the cross for all I know!

So, I strongly suggest you~~

(1) Please try use solvent like : Xylene, High-Flash Naphtha-100, High-Flash Naphtha-150,

Toluene or Petroleum Thinner (I'm pretty sure one of them would work)

(2) Then, apply the solvent onto the surface gently with cotton tip. The paint will gradually

fade out (but the remained original paint will stay because it was baked on).

(3) This will be optional. You can either leave it as it is, or apply a new coat of paint(4).

If you choose (4): Please use TAMIYA model panit (the best quality and the most appropriate

paint for such job). And use TAMIYA brush apply new panit on. This requires a bit of painting skill.

By doing this way, you can restore its natural look and make it your beloving peice again.

I am not trying to convince you to deceiving yourself by doing this. It shares the same logic that

somebody restore a Sherman or a BF-109, then put them in museum for display.

Hope this would help.

Bishop

[Ralph A]

Ack!!! I would leave it alone. The paint job is part of its history, now. I don't think it looks that bad... how do you know the original owner didn't do it? or his kids? (That would be special.)

Anyway, if you want to tinker with it, first try soap and water. Might get lucky. Maybe the paint is water-based.

ps my favorite EK2 is an old beat up job with plenty of character just like yours. Before you sandblast it, let me know and I'll trade you one of my "mintier" ones for it!

[buellmeister]

I agree. I like them with a little "character" as well.

Regards,

Joel

[Bishop]

OK, guys! I can feel you.

A little character is cute ! A little defect won't hurt !

I can dig that. In fact, I have a "55" that has a small patch of paint missing

revealed some nasty scratch mark... that hurts.....

(I feel like a little girl crying for her favorite Barbee's head got ripped off)

The thing is; if Hauptman is deeply bothered every time he sees that piece,

no matter how we try cheer him up, just won't help at all.

Perhaps, my suggestion can be workable at this point.

Bishop

[DavidM]

Hello

Not the best paint job in the world, but far from the worst. So the paints a bit 'rough' in places. It's still a nice, original EK, and I reckon that if you try tinkering with the paint you could well end up making it worse. Enjoy it as it is.

[Hauptmann]

Hi all,

I did some scans as I never did get the chance to redo the original pics. So here's some more views. But I think the brush marks show better in the pics as opposed to the scans.

Obverse:

Ring with makers mark... I believe 24:

Closeup of Obverse:

[Hauptmann]

And the Reverse:

Again a nice enough piece but I so wish someone hadn't painted it.

Dan