Enamel?

Jurgen/Quintilianus

 
For the helmet Gallic Type D I'm making, I need to put red enamel on the rivetheads for the attachment of the rosettes.

How do I do this and what do I need (material and tools)?

 
Matthew Amt  

Ooo, yeah, this might not be easy! You should be able to find enameling products and tools at an art supply store. Most likely it comes in a powder, but once applied to the item it must be baked in a kiln--not sure if an oven is hot enough. THAT'S gonna set you back a few bucks! But you might be able to build a kiln or furnace somehow, maybe using a propane torch, firebricks, etc. Couldn't tell ya. This is the kind of project which leads to "cheating", using something else that looks like real enamel but isn't. If you don't tell us, we might not guess (but God will know, hee hee!). And then comes the trick of peening the rivet without destroying the nice red head...

I have this vague memory from years ago of reading that those silver bosses were not pierced for the rivet, but applied OVER the rivet head by means of a tab at one edge (that passed through a slot in the metal?). Robinson just says, "Ornamental washers of silver with red enamel centres covered the rivets securing the cheek-piece hinges", so I'm not sure where I came up with the more detailed description.