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Thread: Ishpor Enfields, and painted finish...?

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    Legacy Member SOT(D)'s Avatar
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    Ishpor Enfields, and painted finish...?

    Hello...this my first post, and is more of a question. I recently acquired a 7.62 Ishpor, and have broken it down for cleaning. I had an Enfield, long ago, and do not recall the finish. The Ishpor is painted...black (?). Were Enfields also painted, as opposed to being blued? If so, when did painting begin, or were they always blued?
    I will repaint the worn areas, though if acquiring another, I may strip it and blue it. Being that it is from the 60s, and not WWII, altering the finish on a second does notseem such a crime.
    Thanks for the time!
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    A Collector's View - The SMLE Short Magazine Lee Enfield 1903-1989. It is 300 8.5x11 inch pages with 1,000+ photo’s, most in color, and each book is serial-numbered.  Covering the SMLE from 1903 to the end of production in India in 1989 it looks at how each model differs and manufacturer differences from a collecting point of view along with the major accessories that could be attached to the rifle. For the record this is not a moneymaker, I hope just to break even, eventually, at $80/book plus shipping.  In the USA shipping is $5.00 for media mail.  I will accept PayPal, Zelle, MO and good old checks (and cash if you want to stop by for a tour!).  CLICK BANNER to send me a PM for International pricing and shipping. Manufacturer of various vintage rifle scopes for the 1903 such as our M73G4 (reproduction of the Weaver 330C) and Malcolm 8X Gen II (Unertl reproduction). Several of our scopes are used in the CMP Vintage Sniper competition on top of 1903 rifles. Brian Dick ... BDL Ltd. - Specializing in British and Commonwealth weapons Specializing in premium ammunition and reloading components. Your source for the finest in High Power Competition Gear. Here at T-bones Shipwrighting we specialise in vintage service rifle: re-barrelling, bedding, repairs, modifications and accurizing. We also provide importation services for firearms, parts and weapons, for both private or commercial businesses.
     

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    Legacy Member Fushigi Ojisan's Avatar
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    Mpro7 will soften the paint up nicely if you want to remove it


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    Advisory Panel browningautorifle's Avatar
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    They were blued or parkerized and then painted. I don't know for sure about parkerizing as I've not been in a UKicon factory...but they weren't JUST painted. Yes it can be stripped but the best way is a glass beading and then repark and repaint.
    Regards, Jim

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    Legacy Member Fushigi Ojisan's Avatar
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    The Ishapore paint is different than UKicon "stoving"


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    Advisory Panel browningautorifle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Fushigi Ojisan View Post
    The Ishapore paint is different
    I believe you. The UKicon uses Suncorite and India may just use stove paint.
    Regards, Jim

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    Contributing Member Singer B's Avatar
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    My Ishapore was a dilemma. It was an all-matching rifle from 1966 that had been coated with with an unknown black substance. Most of that substance was peeling off and leaving bare metal (see attached photos). I had two options. I could preserve the collector value (maybe $250??), do nothing, and fight the rust and preservation battle. The second option was to refurbish it and bring it back to its original condition prior to being coated with whatever they used on it. I went with option #2. The way I figured it, I would have a Lee Enfield SMLE rifle that would last forever along with the fact that it was chambered in .308 which would always be available (and cheaper than .303). My only concern was what I would find under all of that black colored coating?

    The answer to that was a beautiful Lee Enfield Rifleicon. The wood was stripped using Citristrip and refinished using raw linseed oilicon as per the original factory finish. There was no sanding or removal of dents since I wanted the rifle to retain some of its character. The black coating was stripped off with MPro7 (as mentioned above) prior to having it bead blasted (the bead blaster wouldn't take it until I had the coating taken off since he didn't want it in his media). Once it was bead blasted, I took it to a local gunsmith who blued the metal parts. Final assembly took about a couple of hours. All in all, I have about $700 into a $300 rifle, but she is a beauty. It never fails to turn heads when it is taken out of it's case at the range. When I presented it to it's original owner, he thought it was a different gun and didn't even recognize it as originally being his.

    I hope that helps to give you some perspective as to how you approach your Ishapore project. Good luck!

    Attachment 115431Attachment 115432Attachment 115433Attachment 115434Attachment 115435Attachment 115436Attachment 115437
    Last edited by Singer B; 02-26-2021 at 03:34 PM.

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    Legacy Member SOT(D)'s Avatar
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    Thanks! I will give that a try. Bluing would look much better. A question, though...is bead blasting needed, or is it essential to getting the best finish for the bluing to adhere?

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    Advisory Panel browningautorifle's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by SOT(D) View Post
    is bead blasting needed
    Glass bead blasting will remove every rust pit and clean stamps and remove everything. Except it won't remove surface...so when you blue, it's matt finish but perfect. Otherwise with hand polish you may lose detail or leave some old finish at join of barrel/barrel ring for instance.
    Regards, Jim

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    Contributing Member Singer B's Avatar
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    The bead blasting prepped the metal on my rifle perfectly. Several of the small parts on the safety mechanism actually came out with a purplish tinge to them. All of the small parts now match the receiver and barrel parts. If you pre-strip the black coating, the bead blasting should cost less.

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    Legacy Member jonh172's Avatar
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    Bluing is rust, it’s harder to rust a mirror polished surface than a rough one.

    Glass bead blast is the perfect metal prep for military firearms for bluing or parkerizing.

    Double bonus: it’s easier and faster!

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