It's part of the story - these things get "cleaned up', its history revealed, history lost.
I suppose if you have the contacts who have access to the necessary equipment you can "see" through the layers of paint (the best I've ever managed is to run an item through an x-ray machine to check a royal cypher hidden by leather work).
Apart from the WWII German helmets (someone hoping to find a transfer that means they can sell the lid for £1000 instead of £200 etc) the helmets that seem most prone to paint removal are the Irish 'Vickers" helmets, the Civil Defence white paint being stripped to reveal the original green-black army finish.
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