HT update - Scope arrived

Well just got back from site to some odds and ends in the mail.

As noted from the initial pics in the other thread the scope is no beauty queen.

The "smudge" in the lense is a chipped lense its still functional however if it was to be used as you can see through the damaged lens quite clearly the pic doesn't do it justice just took to show the damage.
Cross hair looks corroded also.
Also appears the rear claw mount on the rifle side was removed from the rifle via a saw or grinder at some stage and cut through the dove tail.

She's currently taking a bath in some "rust bucket" I'll chuck some pics of that a little later also when it's finished doing its thing.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...19821ADA-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...A5907171-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...73ED8B91-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...FACE0913-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1BFEA812-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...C84BE4DF-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...41881F7B-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...C33A2D61-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...E285D061-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...B12B150A-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...68F95C20-1.jpg

Some No32's and L1A1's were a LOT worse than that, believe me. It it were mine, I'd lightly bead blast it out, phosphate it and paint it as per usual. The pitting is what it is and is part of its past. The only way you'll remove it is by abrasion. And that means removing metal - which is the very last thing that you need.

Yep thats a bit crunchy but with some love and maybe a custom lense it should be saveable.

Btw you did check the stuff its soaking in is ok for glass.

Yeh its a product called "Rust Bucket"

I've plugged and sealed everything up with blue tac before I put her in.
Max paranoia that's if stuff something up so was pretty cautious about it.

Fingers crossed!

I recognise them two PH5s.:thup:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mike1967

I recognise them two PH5s.:thup:

---

Im a sucker for PH Aperture sights (any for that matter as long as its direct Bolt on stuff with no mods to the rifle) have 3x PH5A 1x AGP Plus 5 also. Heap of adjustable Iris's
Kinda fell down the rabbit hole with them and been collecting them over recent times.
If I got them form you mate thank you kindly! And they've gone to a good home and will be put to use and looked after ;)

---------- Post added at 12:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:18 AM ----------

And these are the results of the Rust bucket Bath.

Worked amazingly well to the point all the screws could be undone by just beyond hand tight.

The mount that was seized tight in came off with ease even the little keeper screen backed out very easily.

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...BEBE58A3-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...38B67D78-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...FF885864-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...18B655ED-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...2AF8A9FD-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...E49635F3-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...ECA025A3-1.jpg

---------- Post added at 12:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:28 AM ----------

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...72762DF0-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...4D1306DE-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...B9A73F20-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...B9A73F20-1.jpg

Good luck with that. I have never had great success with blasters, but the metal looks as if it could take another blast, and thick enough to take the deep pits out for you.
Looking forward to the photos;)

that came up ok, i got given some citric based rust remover and it does a good job a bit like that. now ya just need to get some automotive rust converter and kill what rust remains. were these scopes originally painted or blued?

One for Peter L to answer, but I suspect blued as it was consistant and would have been less time consuming.

Both UK & Aussie scopes were originally blued.

It'll make a lovely, but demanding, restoration project. Whilst the originals were blued might I suggest that it might not be the best option cosmetically, unless you have a modicum of skill with a Swiss file & are prepared to spend about 8 hours with the scope tube on your lap gently rocking the file over the pitting in order to lose most of it without leaving a visible flat on the tube? It drives me nuts (I have just suncorited a No32 Mk1 tube that was badly pitted until I spent 7 to 8 hours striking it up by hand, so as to preserve the markings & remove the minimum of metal. It also got bead blasted & parked before I painted it & it is now good to go). Bluing looks great so long as it is a perfectly smooth surface that is blued. It'll look terrible if you blue over pitting - in which case I would suncorite it. You can rub the suncorite down with fine wire wool & apply several progressive thin coats that do not look too dissimilar to bluing, so long as you get it right. It'll also tend to fill in some of the worst pitts.

Just my .02c. Good luck with the restoration, whichever way you decide to do it, & keep us posted!

I just cannot believe that you dunked a complete telescope into a tub of whatever it is you dunked it in. Words absolutely fail me - absolutely. I've never seen or heard of such crass.............. nope, no words can even describe my views. I appreciate that knowledge and experience with optical instruments is pretty limited and basic. Nope....., total astonishment...............

What is the preferred cleaning method, then?

Peter, it isn't as bad as it sounds all points of water ingress were plugged up and sealed with blu-Tac (the white substance in some of the pics) and the rear wasn't under water either as I wasn't sure I could seal it up well enough.

She came out unscathed thankfully.

Peter, does it beat shoving a file handle up the OG shade & a lump of plasticine over the ocular lens & then putting the whole lot (No32 Mk3's IIRC) in a bead blasting cabinet?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Roger Payne

in which case I would suncorite it.

---

I doubt very much you could find Suncorite in Australia.

I know it’s not the same, but I would have a very hard time distinguishing Suncorite from satin black Cerakote.

Finding sunkorite in Oz is academic Mike! It's the last link in the preservation process and only protects what's underneath it. And really any bake-to-cure paint, such as motor cycle engine block or heat resisting car exhaust paint will do admirably as TBone rightly suggests. And from the pictures, it still hasn't got down to white/clean metal. That's just my view as a bit part amateur........... Heavens preserve us against such future examples of......, er....... Nope, I'm never usuallly lost for words. Until yesterday that is.........

:lol::lol: Peter, as I said earlier, there does seem to be enough meat on it to continue the blasting. Not a piece of kit I would submerge unless of course the RAF dropped me in a river again, even the alledged waterproofed version didn't stop mother nature getting in!!!.

There was recently someone in the UK selling surplus suncorite on 'that internet auction site' for about twenty quid a litre. A litre of suncorite will refinish a lot of scopes/receivers etc. I don't know if it's still available, nor do I know if he could send it to other countries, but it certainly was for sale.

You're right Gil. I have bead blasted one or two telescope tubes in my time and know that even with the most archaic kit you can get a sympathetic finish on fine or valuable things. Plenty of the L1A1's were like that.

Apparently 'that' sunkorite was well past its sell-by date - by many years so said. But once subject to industrial vibration/shaking and stirring it turned out to be just fine according to my pal

There are threads on odd days Peter, that when I read them slowly with a mouthful of tea, the inevitable spray that comes out when I have to laugh................another story :lol:
Sunkorite is a forgiving beast and agree with all comments, once this has been taken down to get rid of the pitting, coats of Sunkorite will bring it back, even the etched letters will still be there as they are truly shocked into the metal.

Yes, it's ok so long as you really agitate it well so the gunge in the bottom of the tin mixes in. Just don't tell the wife you've borrowed her food blender.

I gather Roger after the one blend the processor is cactus how does one navigate past the obvious question from the wife, the conversation may go like this;
"Roger have you seen my blender".
"I have borrowed it to do some stuff".
"What stuff"
"I needed to mix some Sunkorite".
"Is that a new health drink, I knew you looked a bit fitter".
"Its not really a health drink but it does make things look better when properly applied".
"Oh! is it a lotion made of natural ingredients".
"UUmm! no not really its a paint you apply to metal surfaces to protect them its damn near bullet proof" as Roger exits the room heading towards the shed daily paper in hand its gunna be a long day............!

.......followed by a very sharp knife travelling very fast & aimed between my shoulder blades!

If I️ had a rusty one I️ use the electrolysis rust removal process as it the least invasive you can do to any rusty metal

Yes, it removes no native metal, only the corrosion. I use it to clean up battlefield artifacts that I find on the Somme.

But you need to get the thing apart first, & once done you then need to decide how you're going to finish it. As mentioned above, a blued finish will look hideous over pitting. You need to remove the pitting or use another finish like suncorite or similar. You could even fill in the worst of the pitting & then rub down, before painting the scope tube.

Hey Rog, make a stirring loop out of drill rod that you can chuck up in the drill press. Put it in the can, turn it on and walk away. Sometimes I stir the paint for an hour or two if I have interruptions and I get excellent finish every time. Stirring is definitely the key to using Suncorite. Julie can keep the knives in the drawer where they belong!

Hi Brian. Thanks for the tip. Great idea. I'll give it a go................and she doesn't really throw knives at me....................she just chases after me on her broomstick.

:lol:

Sent you a PM

Is that flat backed rear base not from a No.3 Rifle, or has someone modified it to fit one; or something else?

The trouble with cleaning all the pits out like that, aside from the loss of all patina and originality, is you end up with a moonscape that even blued will look odder and uglier than smoothed down rust would have.

So what do you do? When I was messing about with No32 MkI tubes I would mount them up in the lathe and polish the tubes, first with a very fine and sharp file (soak in vinegar a few days to sharpen), then emery cloth. One had to be very careful of the shallow electro-pencil markings.

Doesn't the Patt. 18 scope have a pretty thick tube? If the markings are deep enough you could try some smoothing on the lathe, but are you going to end up with a reblued tube and brass parts that are worn as they are now? That's not going to look very good.

The best approach with something like this is the slow one: hand tools, good light, good magnification and start in the inconspicuous spots. Fine stainless brushes in a Dremel can be very good for removing rust without removing all patina.

Of course before it goes near a file or a lathe, you'll need a tight fitting drift to get that dent out of the ocular "bell".

The other problem is that you have taken a scope that was dry and soaked it in what was probably a water-based solution, which may have migrated into spaces where it would have been much more to your advantage if a light or penetrating oil had gone instead. As well as helping you get the scope apart, that oil would have helped to soften the superficial rust scale so that you could scrape it off for example with a piece of brass or bronze, or some very fine steel wool.

So now, you'll need to heat it up enough for long enough to be sure you have driven out all the moisture from all the crevices and then soak it in some light/penetrating oil that will not damage the glass or the brass, so that down the road, you can get the internals out without damaging them or the tube.

Bit of an update of late, this one is back to functioning order which is all I was wanting as it will be actively used on the rifle so she’s had a protective coating applied for the interim to look after it for the foreseeable future until I have the Balls to venture down the path of cleaning up the body even further as “SURPMIL” referenced above but for the time being I think I’d be out of my depth if I attempted it for now and likely end in tears.

Her appearance currently may make the pureists out there have a seizure but it’s a go between astaetics wise and being period correct at this stage means less to me than functionality plus since I’ve removed all signs of rust I wanted her to stay cancer free.

further to that it looks like I’ve potentially got another very tidy 1918 scope lined up for “presentation duties” and retaining the rifles value.


https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...A4F660BC-1.jpg

https://www.milsurps.com/images/impo...1C2BC5DC-1.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Surpmil

Is that flat backed rear base not from a No.3 Rifle, or has someone modified it to fit one; or something else?.

---

The rear mount looks as though its been taken to with an angle grinder to remove it from the original rifle back when ever it was done so the partial dovetail has been cut through/off.

A tub of raw molasses is a good way to gently remove rust. Not ideal for aluminium or zinc alloy parts, but excellent on iron and steel. VERY slow, though.

Much better. :D

If you got it apart and back together without damage you did well IMHO. Not an easy thing to do in that condition.