just bought this on craigs list. its a green helm. painted black, Im assuming after the war to make it look like an ss helm. should I leave it alone or strip it and restore it ?
thansk

if it`s had a load of paint applied post war, then you may as well strip it. you may just get a pleasant surprise. i bought one sprayed bmw pink, from germany , for about 40 euros. when i stripped the paint off it was a camo luftwaffe!. not saying this is always the case, but you don`t have a lot to lose by the looks of it!. just go slowly and have lots of water ready to wash off the stripper you use. do a little bit at a time, and don`t rush.
good luck!.

I have had good luck in these situations by using a brand new (Unopened)can of stripper.Apply a medium thick coat of the product.The hard part is to wait and let the stripper work!Do not meddle with the coating until it bubbles and wrinkles all over the surface.Dont do this under a fan or in hot weather as the solvents tend to dry out in areas and you wont get a clean strip.I use an old t-shirt and wipe firmly in one direction,turning the cloth after each wipe.Then wipe with a clean wet cloth to stop the stripping chemicals and dry with a clean cloth.If there are a any stubborn spots wait until the piece is completely dry to re-apply stripper only on the stubborn spots same process as above.Hopefully the old paint is still below and because of its age will be fairly resistant to the stripper.If someone sanded the original finish you may not be so lucky!In any case if the finish is too far gone,You could always put it on a fence post in the back yard,and let nature do its work!Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.Be sure if you do proceed with the restoration to post pics of the process results good or bad! Best wishes for that double decal SS under the sludge!! Geoff.

Do your research as to which brand or type of stripper to use. Some will remove paint one layer at a time, which is what you want, others are more aggressive. I removed orange paint from a WWII helmet and found very nice original dark blue paint underneath.I lost some of the original paint but preserved most of it. Joe S

And have a bucket of water handy - if it's eating too fast, just stop it by plunging the shell into the water and rinsing. This will help save any original finish under the paint...