Blackening a helmet

[Sir Ulrich]

Allright, I almost got my full kit, one thing thats missing is my maille is black but my helmet is extremely shiny, I kinda want to blacken the helmet so that it will match the maille. Any suggestions on how to blacken a helmet? Do I use oil for it? Or paint if so what kind of paint or oil, and keep in mind I cant just throw it on the fire, the liner is RIVETED to the helm, so I'm starting to believe I should use paint as thats a period way of doing it.

[Sir Edward]

Yeah, there are a variety of heat+oil tricks to do it. But it's completely period to paint the helms as well. I think this was done quite a lot, actually.

To get a period look, it just needs to be a relatively flat (matte finish) paint. Acrylics have a great look, but they're water-based (and thus wash off too easily) and also scratch and scrape off very quickly. So you can get away with a spray-paint, enamel, or some sort of oil-based paint, but I would recommend going over it with a matte-finish clear coat if you do that. I'll help protect it against wear, and dull the shine too.

[Sir Brian]

For a quick down and dirty job use some of that grill high heat enamel spray paint or you could go with an epoxy based paint for serious durability but it is a bit more money and labor intensive.

[Sir Wolf]

boiled linseed oil on an old grill. dont let the flames touch it, so put tin foil under it. i used a paint brush to put it on and then soaked the brush in water. un left linseed is extremely flamable

[Sir Matthew]

I used a chemicle gun blueing agent to treat my peascod breast and back and two helmets. If you apply this very thickly and leave it on there wet for a minute or two you will get a very dark finish. The only real care you need to take is to make sure you are applying the same amount accross the helmet to get an even finish and allowing it to sit for for about the same time before wiping it off, again for an even finish. After doing this, wait about an hour or so, then treat with a 3 in 1 or gun oil, do not use WD40 as it is synthetic. This is to prevent rust and to seal the blueing process.

[James Barker]

I have used the linseed oil trick and I have seen a trick with lamp black also that turned out nice.

I spray painted an SCA helmet it looks nothing like original helmets with oil based paints on them.

[Sir William]

So...which method will you use, Ulrich?

[Sir James A]

I used a chemicle gun blueing agent to treat my peascod breast and back and two helmets. If you apply this very thickly and leave it on there wet for a minute or two you will get a very dark finish. The only real care you need to take is to make sure you are applying the same amount accross the helmet to get an even finish and allowing it to sit for for about the same time before wiping it off, again for an even finish. After doing this, wait about an hour or so, then treat with a 3 in 1 or gun oil, do not use WD40 as it is synthetic. This is to prevent rust and to seal the blueing process.

I was about to mention asking Sir Matthew, as he recently posted pics of a similar process.

[Sir Ulrich]

I'm thinking of doing it with paint because I can't heat the helm up due to the liner being riveted into it, just need the right kind of paint to do it with. Gonna go with shades of red and black probably mostly black with a red cross of some sort on the side or make the center ridge of the kettle helm red with the rest black or something. What sort of oil paint should I use and do I need a primer for it first?

[Leganoth]

@Sir Brian/Edward 

Since we all have the same helm or variants of it, what paints would be good to paint over the brass cross?

[Sir Brian]

Painting over any metal surface should first be cleaned and wiped down with either alcohol or thinner. Apply a coat of metal primer and then top coat to your pleasure. Enamel based paints are more readily available and cheaper than epoxy based paints but not as durable. Acrylic paints are also prominent and cheap but the least durable.

Good luck and take lots of before and after pictures! 

[Sir Edward]

Yep, and actually you might consider scuffing the surface a bit before applying the primer, with a fine-grit sandpaper for instance. Or, you can get a self-etching automotive primer. But even just a basic primer without sanding will work. It just sticks better if you scuff the surface first, and scuff the primer before adding your top coats.

If you go with a light color, like white, you may need several coats if it's going over a dark primer. So it's better to choose a light or dark primer based on what you intend to go over it.

[James Barker]

Best spray paint for metal I have found is rustoleum rust remover. It is what most of the armorers are using inside their armor. It will scrape off if it takes lots of metal on metal abuse though. My Historic Enterprise arms still have all the paint on the inside after a good 7 years of use. I sprayed my CoP plates with it and where the plate and rivets over lap the paint comes off but not anywhere else.

[Sir Ulrich]

My helmet currently. I am planning on painting it black except for the central band which I plan to paint red, Considering spray paint for it because I want a nice even coat and I'm not exactly an artist. But I think it would be more period to do it with a brush, maybe even more rustic looking as well, so I may just use spray paint as a primer only.

[Sir Ulrich]

So I got 2 choices for spray paint, glossy or non glossy. What was period? I would assume not glossy but I ain't 100% sure.
I still would like to know what kind of spray paint would look most period. If not I'm just gonna apply a spray primer and then go over it with regular paint, I ALSO don't mind if it gets weathered a bit, as I tend to prefer things to look more weathered as opposed to looking all brand new.
Heres examples of a kettle helm similar to mine that are also painted and worn looking at the same time,