1896 L.E.C Mk1 finish

[cautionflamable]

did you have a stainless steel carding wheel or only hand "abrasives

I used a 0000 steel wool that I use for polishing guitar finishes. The finish survived roughly 4 hours in a rolling boil with bronze brushings every half hour or so. The only part of the rifle that had paint on it was the magazine. The paint became gummy and scrubbed away with my thumbs.

---------- Post added at 09:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 08:58 PM ----------

Suncorite in 1896? Or 1906 or 1926 or 1936?

No.

Thank you for not being condescending or anything. Info on this rifle is scarce and I'm here because I don't know anything. Sorry I guess for not just knowing the full history and nuances of rifle finishes in the 1800's.
I hate coming to places like this because it takes so much work to sift through crap like this.
This is my first milsurp, this is my first time researching the history, this is my first time really with any of it.

---------- Post added at 09:10 PM ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 PM ----------

Im not interested in removing the finish if it is real. I know enough to know it isn't "pappys old can of paint"
This stuff looks and feels just like bluing in person, but it is somehow thick, like an enamel or something. There was ONE area of the rifle that had been clearly painted in the past and this was not difficult to both identify or remove without disturbing the finish beneath.
The entire rifle appears to be a plain dark bluing and I am not questioning this. The barrel and receiver, however, are the bits in question.