How to restore a No.4

I am in the market for a No.4 Enfield and i plan on cleaning it up when i get it. Its gonna be a bit before i get it so i might as well ask how to clean it up so i can get to it when i do get it. I want to know how to clean up the wood and metal. I sanded the stock on my sporterized SMLE and it cleaned up real nice after two coats of linseed oil. I plan on buying the rifle for a shooting rifle, not a major collectors peice, but I know some people do not want people to sand the stock, does anybody know why?. What is good for redoing the metal? Is paint good or is a blueing agent better? Any help will probably save me a headache or two.

Hi there LE No4, good to hear that one more person is interested in milsurp!

I'll take the time to make a few points later tonight (got to prepare dinner for the family right now). But as a teaser, I'll simply say, if you sand the wood, if you sandblast the metal, you are removing history off the rifle; and the history is what makes milsurp so interesting!

There are relatively easy ways to restore without destroying.

Lou

Ok, here are a few tips.

If you get an original Lee Enfield, not one that was put back together from spare parts (like most of the ones I have!), then you've got yourself a firearm that has a bit of collector's value. Doing something to the rifle that will change it permanently (like sanding the wood) cuts down it's value.

Buy a dirty, greasy but original No4 for $500, take it appart, clean and sand the wood to a perfectly smooth finish, you're going to have a hard time to sell it for that much money. Plus, you'd permatnently remove some of the history of the rifle. Stamped numbers, "battle scars" sometimes... The signs of age...

So let's do this differently.

Carefully take apart the rifle, carefully following the instructions in a reference book (free PDF's). If cosmoline is covering the metal, use varsol. If it's just grime and dirt, light oil should be sufficient.

Would could be first cleaned with soapy water, but sometimes, a simple rub with linseed oil is sufficient, no water or soap needed.

When you reassemble the rifle, oil the metal parts (be generous where the metal will be hidden by the wood; some grease could be better, but I can't remember off hand which type!) and you're done...

Lou

Ok i understand not sanding a all original rifle, but I plan on buying a decent shooter that may not have matching numbers (Those matching numbers are a little too much for this 18 year old student) If I buy say a bits and pieces rifle and i want to make it look attractive to me, not to any collectors. if that involves sanding the stock and refinishing the metal is it really that bad? I would probably never do that to an all matching original rifle that i may want to sell in the future (at least now i won't), but for now im just looking for a shooter that looks (and feels) good (I like the full wood stocks over sporterized ones)

I do understand your point.

There's one thing lots of folks need to always remember - your rifle is, well, yours :)

I guess my advice is, do as little as possible to still be happy with the result. Part of the pleasure (in my opinion) to shoot with a milsurp is that the rifle has character, and the details in its (sometimes imperfect) appearance are part of what makes the rifle unique.

Sanding also removes wood, and the less wood there is, the weaker it eventually becomes. If too much wood is removed in a few places, it could get thin and more prone to spliting.

Now, I do use very fine steel wool to prepare wood before the linseed oil, it does make the wood look nice and doesn't remove much material.

A lot is different with stocks I'd buy used, to desporterize a rifle; so it all depends where the rifle is coming from, as you stated.

Lou

Ok thanks, how well does steel wool clean the wood? some of the more affordable enfields look like they have a varnish or something on the stock, How would one remove it? And if i did sand, i would not sand the wood to intensely, when i did my sportered SMLE i just used 100 grain to remove the worn varnish the stock was covered in and smoothed it out with 150g paper and then oiled it. And what would be a good method for restoring worn metal parts, is bluing a good method? I am all for preserving history (I worked at a heritage town for 8 years after all) so I understand peoples objections. In my view though, their is a difference beetween preserving a rifle, and compleatly restoring one. But to his is own i suppose, and thanks for the quick replies Lou.

Often, previous owners put varnish on Enfields. (yuck!). A furniture stripper (I use Circa1850) works very well.

The point of using steel wool is that it clogs less than very fine sand paper. And it's cheap.

If you strip the wood from the previous finish, buff it with steel wool, it would be then ready for many very thin coats of oil; and it would later end up looking great, and as close to authentic as possible.

I've reblued a few metal parts as well. When it's obvious that they lost their blueing, and that without intervention they would soon rust, then sure, I'm personaly ok with reblueing. Mind you, again if all the parts were authentic and original, the "loss of blueing" would be part of the rifle's history. When I reblue, it's to put a spare, non-number matching part on a refurbed project.

But it sure is fun to see that bare metal turn blue with the nasty chemical potion :)

Lou

If you have some small dents and dings, they can be "ironed" out using a damp rag directly on the wood and "ironing" with a clothe iron. Steam will raise the dent. It won't work with gouges but for small dings, it should make a good decent job.

When the wood is ready for oil application, lightly wet the wood with a wet (not dripping) rag, put it over a source of heat (not direct flame) and wood fibers will "raise" like a morning beard. Then use one last time the steel wool to "shave" the wood. NOW you are ready for oil application.