Black coating on a No.5 Jungle

[HuskyDude]

I have recently purchased a No5.Mk1 Jungle for a reasonably price.
The seller said the barrel had been painted by the previous owner and all the numbers do not match.
The barrel bore was good and the rifle was functional.
It's good to be honest and upfront from the beginning.
I thought I would take it apart and remove the paint and try my hand at re-blueing.
When I took the stock and hand guard off. I found that it looks like the whole rifle has a black coating from the beginning. There is still black paint on the barrel too.
So my question is...
Is this a " black powder coating" done at the factory ??? Can it be removed.

 

[Bartok5]

It is not powder coating, it is a solvent-resistant, enamel paint called "Sunkorite" that the British have been painting their weapons with since at least WW2. Unfortunately, IIRC, it contain(ed) various cancer-causing agents and was impossible to find outside of the UK. You might be better off with Brownells Black Aluma-Hyde II if you can manage to find it for sale in Canada or can bring it back across he border with you by vehicle. The Aluma-Hyde is a fairly thick aerosol spray-on epoxy-based coating that cures over several days and weeks to a hard and highly-durable Sunkorite-like coating.

 

[HuskyDude]

Thx Mark,
All good info.
Why do I feel like I might have just plunged down another deep rabbit hole....

 

[Dogfish858]

Double check because there's a decent chance you have something original and force matched at an armory.

 

[lone ranger]

I redone a J carbine a couple winters ago. The factory black paint was so worn off & looking horrible, I had to do something. I wire brushed all of it off, then sanded the metal smooth with 180grit, then 400 wet, then buffed with the Black stone. I then heated all the metal & Blued it 7 times. It turned out soooo nice.

 

[Beater]

your JC looks prity good. if the suncorite is good leave it

 

[HuskyDude]

Lone Ranger that looks very nice!!!
The finish on my Jungle is very bad and really not worth saving. I was thinking of trying some chemical to remove the old suncorite.
But if a wire wheel works, I'll use that. A friend has a small powder coating gun. Just not sure I want to go that route.
I like cold blueing. And it looks good on yours.

 

[lone ranger]

Lone Ranger that looks very nice!!!
The finish on my Jungle is very bad and really not worth saving. I was thinking of trying some chemical to remove the old suncorite.
But if a wire wheel works, I'll use that. A friend has a small powder coating gun. Just not sure I want to go that route.
I like cold blueing. And it looks good on yours.

I heated all the metal parts before bluing. It takes the blue much better. I just used a propane torch. just hot enough to say ouch when you touch the metal.