On your Enfield have you considered reparkerizing it? May want to look at this product.
I've considered that. The stock was belt sanded in Ishapore India during a rearsenaling to the point of being misshapen. Really bad heel and toe repairs and so much cosmoline (packed in the stock 1/4" deep in many areas) that the area around the king screw (main screw holding the receiver to the forestock) had started to soften to a wet cardboard consistency. The nasty Indian slop black paint "refinishing" job obscured most of the original metal markings and made the mechanical components sticky and rough to operate.
After stripping the Indian paint with Acetone it is smooth and now slick as butter. What fine engineering. You can cycle the action with the tips of two fingers. More original finish than I though except the barrel tip and the magazine and bands. As it stands now, I will likely just refinish the magazine and bands, since the wood furniture hides most of the barrel and the receiver actually looks pretty good in the white. I've replaced some bands and components with new, unissued that are parked. I may use the blue wonder (black) or GunKote or Durakote on those that are not replaced and the magazine, since the black spray paint stands out a bit and already doesn't wear well.
The big challenge now is proper inletting and bedding with the new stock.
I did have "purists" on the various boards before I started this (and before I saw that it was actually unsafe to shoot) suggest I keep the Indian paint and original misshapen, belt sanded stock from the rearsenaling as "part of it's history." I respect a rifle's history, but when all the markings are sanded off the stock and you can't see the service and proofing stampings on the metal -- you just have that "paint em and store em in a crate for 30 years" history left to show. I'm not that much of a purist
There is the argument that you just turned a $150 gun (incl. new stock) into a $50 gun. Yeah, that same purist wouldn't have paid the $100 I paid for the very marginal (except the bore) basic gun in the first place, but I bet somebody else would pay at least $150 for a nice looking shooter Enfiled at some point. And I'll get a better return than any of the $300 graphic cards I've bought that are worth $20 today
Charon
[edit: I still have the forestock around for measuring with the inletting of the new one. Even wiped down well and at room temprature, the inside oozes cosmoline from the wood like oil leaking from the Arizona.]
