Joe B
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- Jun 6, 2009
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I won this early HJ visor on Ratisbons auction last month . It was not in the best condition and the visor had been painted black . Innitially I thought this to be a postwar alteration but then did some research and learned that on November of 1936 , all visor caps with the brown cloth visor were forbidden for wear after 1 Januart 1937 , and were to be replaced by a service cap with a black visor . Additionally a black chin strap replaced the brown one as well as the brown side buttons to black .
I have seen early pattern shoulderstraps converted to the post 38 pattern by painting or inking the topsides black . In my opinion Visors were not cheap , so I think this cap was converted to the 1937 regulations as an economic measure . I could be wrong , but I dont think so .
The restoration :
I filled up my kitchen sink with cold water and added a half a cup of Woolite . I emmersed the entire cap in the water and gentely hand swirrled the cap until the water was dark ( this took approx 10 minutes ) . Next I drained the water and repeated the process once again , Again I filled the sink but this time with just cold water (no Woolite) to remove all soap remaining . The water was clear as well . Using a dry towel I lightly patted the cap of excess water. Next i allowed it to naturaly dry over a 36 hour period . The chinstrap was the wrong pattern for early HJ visors , that was replaced with a regulation pattern . The diamond was a pin on membership pattern , that was removed and replaced by a regulation HJ diamond with prongs .
The photos are how the visor looked when I recieved it and how it looks now .
I have seen early pattern shoulderstraps converted to the post 38 pattern by painting or inking the topsides black . In my opinion Visors were not cheap , so I think this cap was converted to the 1937 regulations as an economic measure . I could be wrong , but I dont think so .
The restoration :
I filled up my kitchen sink with cold water and added a half a cup of Woolite . I emmersed the entire cap in the water and gentely hand swirrled the cap until the water was dark ( this took approx 10 minutes ) . Next I drained the water and repeated the process once again , Again I filled the sink but this time with just cold water (no Woolite) to remove all soap remaining . The water was clear as well . Using a dry towel I lightly patted the cap of excess water. Next i allowed it to naturaly dry over a 36 hour period . The chinstrap was the wrong pattern for early HJ visors , that was replaced with a regulation pattern . The diamond was a pin on membership pattern , that was removed and replaced by a regulation HJ diamond with prongs .
The photos are how the visor looked when I recieved it and how it looks now .
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