'War Paint' on Enfield

rhino519

rhino519

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Ive already introduced my sporty Long Branch Nr4mk1* so Ill go straight to a point;

its been explained to me that the British Army had a custome of painting their rifles wtih some sort of black paint, now some of the paint is gone, the blueing seems to hold, no sight of rust, maybe because of the wonder works of gunzilla(shamless plug, I know:redface:), or the cold blue I applied to exposed areas, once the rifle was in my possession, but I would like to spruce it up and remove the reminder (Ill guess way less then 50%) of the paint

what would be the best method?
or should I just look into parkerizing/painting the whole thing over? (Ill eventually scope the gun, dont know yet if Ill refurbish the full wood but I do have something else in plans as well;))
 
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rhino519 said:
Ive already introduced my sporty Long Branch Nr4mk1* so Ill go straight to a point;

its been explained to me that the British Army had a custome of painting their rifles wtih some sort of black paint, now some of the paint is gone, the blueing seems to hold, no sight of rust, maybe because of the wonder works of gunzilla(shamless plug, I know:redface:), or the cold blue I applied to exposed areas, once the rifle was in my possession, but I would like to spruce it up and remove the reminder (Ill guess way less then 50%) of the paint

what would be the best method?
or should I just look into parkerizing/painting the whole thing over? (Ill eventually scope the gun, dont know yet if Ill refurbish the full wood but I do have something else in plans as well;))
Click to expand...

I suppose pics would be in order. Please post a good set showing the whole thing including the end of the barrel.

Bead blasting should probably remove the Suncorite. (black paint) Possibly you could have it blued after that. If the markings are still deep and clear and untouched, reblue with no polishing, trying to replicate the original military appearance.

If the barrel is full length, uncut and still includes the bayonet lugs, it's a candidate for restoration to full military trim.

If the barrel is shortened, probably not worth bothering.

Scoped? Hopefully use a no drill and tap scope mount like S&K. Lots of them around.
 
"...some sort of black paint..." It's called Suncorite. Brownell's sold it for a while. Not any more though. Done after W.W. II to British owned rifles only, as I recall. Less expensive for the Brits to put on than a chemical dip finish. Might come off with a wire wheel in a bench grinder. Blasting it will certainly remove it.
You can parkerize at home without spending a huge pile of money. The colour will be shades of grey or black depending on the chemicals used. Good finish for a hunting rifle.
 
The cheap-o alternative to Suncorite is black gloss high temperature BBQ or car header paint. If you bake it with a little extra ambiant heat, it will be even stronger.

I baked some brown enamel on heating register grills one time, and the fumes damn near gagged me out of the house for hours. Do this when the Residential Sergeant Major is out of town for a couple days, or on a very low setting in the gas BBQ outdoors. The very ordinary origin of the paint was tough black paint used to paint stoves (or "ranges") in British households.
 
cantom said:
I suppose pics would be in order. Please post a good set showing the whole thing including the end of the barrel.

Bead blasting should probably remove the Suncorite. (black paint) Possibly you could have it blued after that. If the markings are still deep and clear and untouched, reblue with no polishing, trying to replicate the original military appearance.

If the barrel is full length, uncut and still includes the bayonet lugs, it's a candidate for restoration to full military trim.

If the barrel is shortened, probably not worth bothering.

Scoped? Hopefully use a no drill and tap scope mount like S&K. Lots of them around.
Click to expand...

about a 1/4in has been cut from the muzzle, lugs are still in place, and no way am I drilling a Long Branch Enfield, restoring is an option, in time
sunray said:
You can parkerize at home without spending a huge pile of money. The colour will be shades of grey or black depending on the chemicals used. Good finish for a hunting rifle.
Click to expand...

I think Ill have to go that route, not too many gunsmiths here and the one I spoke apparently has so much business going on he didnt seem interested

maple_leaf_eh said:
The cheap-o alternative to Suncorite is black gloss high temperature BBQ or car header paint. If you bake it with a little extra ambiant heat, it will be even stronger.

I baked some brown enamel on heating register grills one time, and the fumes damn near gagged me out of the house for hours. Do this when the Residential Sergeant Major is out of town for a couple days, or on a very low setting in the gas BBQ outdoors. The very ordinary origin of the paint was tough black paint used to paint stoves (or "ranges") in British households.
Click to expand...

:)thanks for the heads up

thanks guys,Ill try to post pix soon
 
rhino519 said:
Ive already introduced my sporty Long Branch Nr4mk1* so Ill go straight to a point;

its been explained to me that the British Army had a custome of painting their rifles wtih some sort of black paint, now some of the paint is gone, the blueing seems to hold, no sight of rust, maybe because of the wonder works of gunzilla(shamless plug, I know:redface:), or the cold blue I applied to exposed areas, once the rifle was in my possession, but I would like to spruce it up and remove the reminder (Ill guess way less then 50%) of the paint

what would be the best method?
or should I just look into parkerizing/painting the whole thing over? (Ill eventually scope the gun, dont know yet if Ill refurbish the full wood but I do have something else in plans as well;))
Click to expand...

:needPics:
 
Below is a 1950 No.4 Mk.2 with South African markings, it had been center bedded and used as a target rifle by the South Africans. It was not painted with suncorite paint and it appears to have been painted with a flat or semi-gloss oil base paint. When I first got the Enfield I was cleaning it and I was giving it a good rubdown with Kroil, when I noticed the paint was coming off the receiver. Below plain rubbing alcohol is taking off this paint, therefore even BBQ black paint would be politically correct.
(My sphincter muscles really puckered for a few seconds, I thought I had discovered a new Suncorite paint remover by accident) :eek:

IMGP2194.jpg
 
Was the suncorite used on FTR's from the 50's mainly as that is where I have seen it but I haven't looked at anywhere near as many L-E's as some on this forum.
 
Most No.5's and No.4 Mk.2's were done in the Suncorite, over parkerizing. So were Stens, and the Sterling SMG's built at Fazakerly. Later No.4 Mk.1 rifles were done in Suncorite, too, as were all FTR'd rifles. Even the Enfield No.2 revolvers were done with that stuff. Probably one of the best finishes ever used on military rifles, as far as I'm concerned.

You do see the odd No.4 or 5 that was parkerised only, and also the odd one that was painted without being parkerised. Painting weapons goes back to the old 18th. century Sea Service muskets, which had all the metal "Japanned" black. It fell out of favour during the percussion era, though, and didn't appear again until WW2.
 
love this forum, so many people with wealth of knowledge on so many subjects
thank you again to all

Ill find time to post pix tomorrow, but from what Im reading maybe I sould get my hands on some suncorite
 
rhino519 said:
love this forum, so many people with wealth of knowledge on so many subjects
thank you again to all

Ill find time to post pix tomorrow, but from what Im reading maybe I sould get my hands on some suncorite
Click to expand...

...maybe not...it's toxic and hazardous to use.

It also isn't really right on a Long Branch, we never used the stuff.

Better bead blasted and blued without polishing, if the colour comes out right.
 
ehh thanks for pointing that out cantom :(

anyway here are the pix, not as bas as I thought, looks like way less than 50%
the muzzle, pretty much just a bit between lug and sight
lee006.jpg


lee005.jpg


lee004.jpg


lee001.jpg


lee002.jpg


not the best pix, sorry guys, all in all the most is left on the receiver and parts of the barrel where it was protected by sportrized wood, it seems
would love to find out if there is some chemical way of removing the stuff :/
 
Not meaning to hijack the thread or anything, but would Armacoat be the closest thing to Suncorite for practical purposes? - I mean without the possibility of 3 headed babies (Suncorite is available, I know, but wow that stuff's evil)
 
Strange looking safety for a Long Branch, isn't it?
I always thought LB's had one shaped like a foot... this one is similar to an old SMLE.
So...what's the verdict on this, as I definately Needs Sum Skoolin'
 
chofo said:
Strange looking safety for a Long Branch, isn't it?
I always thought LB's had one shaped like a foot... this one is similar to an old SMLE.
So...what's the verdict on this, as I definately Needs Sum Skoolin'
Click to expand...

Long Branch used 3 different safety styles, and that isn't one of them, it's Brit.
 
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