red paint on charging bridge and front of receiver

[conger]

I just came into a 1952 RFI wire wrapped grenade launching No1Mk3 rifle. It has red paint on the front of the receiver and some on the charging bar. Since some has chipped off I cannot tell if it was a wide stripe or what. Could this be unsafe or what could the red paint signify?

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[Thunderbox]

It could mean anything at all, or have no meaning at all. There were/are thousands of different users of Enfield Rifles, and there is no definitive list of how they may or may not have marked their rifles. No inference can be made simply because the paint is red - eg it may simply be that a certain Indian Police section had their weapons marked red whilst other sections used different colours.

If you have access to a proof test, then that is one way to satisfy yourself that the rifle is ok. Otherwise you have to make a judgement. Unless the rifle has been cut or butchered in some way, the chances are that its perfectly ok.