re blueing a Parker Hale Enfield rifle

[Richard Schimenti]

I have recently purchased a used parker hale enfiled Rifle. Thsi rilfe has a very low serial number of 2189 and I believe was made in Birmingham, England.

the question is that there is some loss of blueing on the barrle as well as some scratches, ect.

I was wondering if the barrel should be reblued and if you would be able to advise who would do it as close to a color of the originals. Thank you, rich schimenti

my email is richardscimenti2301@msn.com

[HighPrvt]

No need to reblue it. If you look at images of CW soldiers with Enfield rifles you'll notice that most have had the blueing rubbed off, or worn thin. They used whatever they could get their hands on to clean their weapons, from ashes, to crushed brick. Add to that the fact that the blueing wasn't as good as what they use today....
Seems to me it would have been very hard to keep the blueing intact, if it were so desired. Let it get dinged, dented, & scratched, but keep it clean.
Looks more authentic that way.

[Richard Schimenti]

thanks for the tip.

[Richard Schimenti]

Thanks for the input. I had thought about doing just that, but i was looking for some othe opinions. Rich

[Curt-Heinrich Schmidt]

Hallo!

Just as an aside...

As all Enfields left the manufactories "in color," and then some where later struck bright by armories as well as some units, I would recommend Geoff Waldon's eassay on period Enfield "color:"

http://www.geocities.com/Pentagon/Qu...nf/enfblue.htm

And also, period rust-bluing is a durable metal treatment. It is something of a reenactorism that it is thin and fragile that comes from modern lads stripping their Enfields and then trying to "reblue" the barrel not with actual rust-bluing but rather with cheap, weak, and ineffective cold blue "touch-up" surface liquids and pastes that are thin, fragile, and largely temporary.

Curt-Heinrich Schmidt