Cheers guys,

Good point Peter, I will look into polyphosphate finishing in the future, sounds interesting.

Thing is, I was a professional refinisher for 20+ years, so try to keep the whole possess from start to finish in house, on the grounds of cost .... and professional pride!

I employ a system utilising very careful preparation and cleaning, a black single pack primer and an excellent quality thinned out two pack matt black. This is then hand polished to a semi matt sheen, roughly approximating the original factory oil black finish (found on Britishicon rifles, I know this a Lithgowicon, but hay ho). The result is extremely hard wearing with excellent heat resistance, at least plenty good enough for my deac rebuilds and my live L1A1's!