Important Ideas On Repairing Hand Painted Fire Helmet Shields

By Janet Snyder


Firefighters wear helmet to safeguard them from cinders, falling objects, and fire. These helmets have been in use for decades, and their shape has remained almost the same up to now. However their compositions have shifted from traditional leather to metallic structures such as nickel, aluminum, brass, and eventually lightweight headgears made of polymers, and different types of plastics. The leatherhead type has been used as a firefighting symbol. With little training, it is possible to refurbish hand painted fire helmet shields. They can be painted according to personal taste and preference.

Back in the 1880s, an unknown sculptor designed a helmet and positioned it on a grave of a firefighter who had volunteered in firefighting. The headgear was named brass and beaver. They were embraced later on as firefighting protective structures. It is simple to repair these structures in case of damages. Practicing is the only trick of mastering the refurbishing procedure. It is important to find out the materials that required for the repairing procedure. Established online retailers such as eBay offer the supplies at an affordable cost.

Make a point of purchasing the repair supplies from competent and reliable supplier. Online purchases must be made at established and reliable sites. The areas that require to be repaired should be examined. Make sure the interior parts are in good shape. Check whether the inner lining has any worn spot or tears. Other things that require immediate attention are missing portions, broken, and missing parts. Never retain old earflaps that show lines of weakness. Cover the holes and missing parts by the furnace cement.

Other common supplies required during the refurbishing process include sandpaper, pliers, linseed oil, and a knife. Before the restoration process commences, the shield and any other hardware should be ripped off from the head protector. These materials must be placed in a safe box, which should be placed in a secure place. The items are shined by polishing and cleaning, hence, do not require painting and sanding. Broken and damaged hardware needs to be replaced with a new one.

The 150-grit sandpaper is used to sand a leather firefighting headgear. The sanding is the appropriate trick of removing old paint. Beautiful filigree requires to be maintained by being careful during the sanding of those areas. The leather made structures contains coats of linseed oil. Hence, the paint can be removed effectively by adding oil.

The material used to fix gaps, holes, and cracks is known as furnace cement.in addition, the cement retains its natural properties even when exposed to high temperature. Ensure all old cement is replaced with fresh one.

Leather fire headgear needs few coats of paint. The first one must be a mixture of boil linseed lubricant and paint, which forms a fitted resilient seal. The helmet must be given time to dry. Later, several additional layers of paints can be added.

Important structures such as traps must be protected during the refurnishing procedure. Experience professionals recommend mounting or handing of the helmet. Flat hard surfaces have tendency of damaging it.




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