Sentimental purchase

[Borg warner]

7 hours ago, Nestor said:

I developed a slightly different technique in fact. I'm staining the wood first, but I'm also adding the stain to the tung oil, mixing it up with a bit of odorless mineral spirits. Now while applying the oil, I'm doing it while sanding with the very fine sandpaper (like 1000). This way the oil turns muddy and fills the grain quicker and also it looks better as the stain got pushed into the grain. I would let it dry for about 30 minutes and gently wipe off the excess and then let it dry for 3-5 days. I'm usually going for 8-9 coats, but the last one or two may have some poly added for additional protection against the elements (usually matte poly). I would top that with wax in the end.

Whatever you're doing it really looks good but with 9 coats of Tung oil followed by wax  I don't think you need polyurethane for additional protection against the elements unless you plan on subjecting that rifle to extended periods of Rain. sleet, and snow.

[Nestor]

8 minutes ago, Borg warner said:

Whatever you're doing it really looks good but with 9 coats of Tung oil followed by wax  I don't think you need polyurethane for additional protection against the elements unless you plan on subjecting that rifle to extended periods of Rain. sleet, and snow.

That sounds like a normal weather forecast for this place, but on a more serious note I like to seal the grain with ultra thin layers (to the point where you can barely notice that the wood was just oiled) rather than 3-4 thicker ones. I may also follow up on the advice regarding the silicone grease. Last time I was on the range we got hit with the heavy rain followed by the hail. Summers are nice here though

[Nestor]

Cosmoline was removed both from the receiver and barrel. Mineral spirits bath followed by the light oil spray (WD40) followed by another mineral spirits bath and finished with the boiling water treatment. In the end it's nice to see the Cosmoline gone. As you can see the receiver was a bit rusty. No wonder - it was made 90 years ago. Rust removal bath took care of that and now it's soaking in the rust inhibitor oil. All the small parts that were cleaned received the silicone grease film. However those that will be exposed to the heat will only be oiled. More to come later.

 

After the boiling water dried.

 

 

90 minutes later after the rust removal bath.

 

 

 

Edited December 20, 2018 by Nestor

[Moshe]

On ‎12‎/‎2‎/‎2018 at 7:19 PM, Nestor said:

I've seen probably close to a hundred of firearms coming and going thru my safe over the last decade. Some of them are still here, some are gone. However, never before did I have a firearm that could literally seen its last action being taken against Nazi Germany. Same regime that is responsible for killing 6 million of my countrymen and turned my home city into the sea of ashes during WW2.

Till yesterday.

Who knows, maybe it was even carried by the Polish fellow who fought as a part of the Canadian Corps in Italy or Normandy? Maybe this rifle defended Tobruk against the elite Africa Corps? Maybe it was carried to the top of the mountain during the struggle for Monte Cassino?

Right after WW2 in 1950 or 1951 Italy as a new NATO member received a huge number of Canadian and British Lee Enfield rifles as a strategic reserve in case of WW3.

They were stored, refurbished and taken care of by the Italians and never really used ever since.

About 10 years ago a company called Euroarms started releasing these rifles to the public in Europe after the Italians decided to sell part of the stored rifles (large number was destroyed unfortunately).

You can read about it here:

http://www.euroarms.net/efd/introduction.htm

Somehow, some of these gems made their way up here, to Canada, over the last, few years.

Over 70 years in the military storage.

No service since then.

I've got myself one.

I've never thought that things may have such a power over the people.

This is the single, most valuable rifle in my collection. Period.

Not the prettiest, nor most expensive.

Probably not the most accurate, nor collectible (many parts are not even numbered, even though the receiver and bolt are matching).

But it's sure very special.

My heart beats faster every time I touch it.

Maybe it's me being just over emotional, maybe I'm thinking way too much....but jeeez.

It's caked in the cosmoline.

Hard cosmoline it is.

70 years old after all.

I took a week off, just to start working on it.

Looks like a job for a month or two really.

I may need a heat gun.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is 1928 Ishapore Lee Enfield No1 Mk3 rifle in 303 British that most likely served with the Canadian Forces in WW2.

Stock was replaced sometimes down the road and so were the rear sight protectors along with the other parts, but the barrel on this thing...just take a look yourself. This was only cleaned slightly for the purpose of grading the condition by the store staff. Crown looks like new.

Thanks for your time. Posted this on another forum, but it fits here as well just fine.

That is awesome.  There is nothing wrong with sentimental.  I have a Mossberg 1300 Defender 8 shot, original wood, and bluing, pristine.  They are hard to find that way these days.  When my father had an FFL, I bought one from him.  Yes, there was no "give" in my house, you bought at wholesale.  So, that was my first 12 gauge I obtained after I got rid of the 16 gauge hanging on the gun rack in my room.  Like a schmuck I sold it later in life.  A local LGS was having a shotgun sale.  I usually, look at them, they usually have the bluing messed up, or it looked like someone hit it with a tree, etc.  This was one was pristine, so I bought.  Took it home, test fired it for function, now it just lives in the safe.

[Borg warner]

15 hours ago, Nestor said:

Cosmoline was removed both from the receiver and barrel. Mineral spirits bath followed by the light oil spray (WD40) followed by another mineral spirits bath and finished with the boiling water treatment. In the end it's nice to see the Cosmoline gone. As you can see the receiver was a bit rusty. No wonder - it was made 90 years ago. Rust removal bath took care of that and now it's soaking in the rust inhibitor oil. All the small parts that were cleaned received the silicone grease film. However those that will be exposed to the heat will only be oiled. More to come later.

How will you finish the metal? It looks as though quite a bit of the original finish remains. The original finish on SMLE's was oil blackening or black oxide followed by a coating of black enamel paint (suncorite 259) Most restorers use Rustoleum 7777 satin black and some use High temp paint.

[Nestor]

While I totally understand (and crave) the idea of full restoration, I'm just cleaning up this rifle. To restore it, I would need to find a proper wood with Ishapore screw in mint/brand new condition. In fact I would opt for the professional re-finisher instead of using the spray-on paint in such case. Yes, with the rust some of the flaking paint is gone, exposing the bare steel, but at the same time it shows the before FTR look (I'm assuming) of the rifle. I don't mind it really. I left all the scratches and scars both on the wood and metal intact. My intention was just to clean up the rust, dirt and Cosmoline off. My only real concern at this point is to preserve the "battle worn" look while keeping the rust and mold away. For this reason I've treated the stock with the anti-mold solution and used silicone grease on the small metal parts.

[janice6]

Don't call it a "restoration" if you don't want people suggesting improvements.  Call it a "customized finished piece", and then you have the option of any kind or degree of finishing you want. 

It's like  cars.  If you "restore" one, it will get "picked" to pieces for fit and finish.  If you "customize" one, people either like it, or they don't, but it's not up for discussion.

[Nestor]

Maybe I indeed used the wrong description of the process in place by saying that I would like to clean it up and restore the rifle to the old glory. Sorry if it came through like that. While the worn out look may lack in the esthetics department it doesn't affect the function and I simply thought that the nice paint would look weird along the old looking wood. Perhaps a single coat of the low gloss engine enamel over the areas where the steel is exposed and then some gently sanding would be better? I'm not sure. I'm going to look again at the receiver soon and decide the best course of action. Thanks Guys!

[Borg warner]

2 hours ago, Nestor said:

Maybe I indeed used the wrong description of the process in place by saying that I would like to clean it up and restore the rifle to the old glory. Sorry if it came through like that. While the worn out look may lack in the esthetics department it doesn't affect the function and I simply thought that the nice paint would look weird along the old looking wood. Perhaps a single coat of the low gloss engine enamel over the areas where the steel is exposed and then some gently sanding would be better? I'm not sure. I'm going to look again at the receiver soon and decide the best course of action. Thanks Guys!

Perhaps a single coat of the low gloss engine enamel over the areas where the steel is exposed and then some gently sanding would be better?  Yes, but I would use satin Rustoleum enamel instead of Gloss engine paint and use steel wool instead of sandpaper to blend it in and then follow that with a couple of coats of some Rustoleum clear coat. that way the exposed metal is protected from corrosion in the Rain, sleet and snow of the Canadian wilderness.

Rustoleum has an actual rust inhibitor in the paint.

https://www.rustoleum.com/product-catalog/consumer-brands/stops-rust/clear-enamel

[Nestor]

All the small parts are back where they belong. It was a bit tricky to re-install the sear spring and rear sight as there was a LOT of spring pressure involved. Nonetheless it's all done now. Rust was removed and all the metal parts were oiled and greased preventing any rust issues in the future. I didn't refinish anything and was happy to leave the wear marks exposed. It doesn't bother me at all - it's all history after all. Evidence of the war fought. I may opt for the full refinish with the next rifle which is going to be a de-sported example. Still need to order the bolt tool and wood will require couple more weeks to be ready, but it's getting closer to the end.

 

So many markings...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nestor]

About 12 coats of the pure tung oil, finished with the wax. No varnish. One old screw gave up during the re-assembly process and forced me to be creative. Modern screw with the leather washer worked just fine, but I may order a replacement eventually. Awaiting the headspace gauges and as soon as I'll be able to verify it's safe to fire, this old girl may start rocking again. Thanks for your time Guys.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Range report will follow.

[deputy tom]

Nice results, Nestor. tom.

[Citra47]

On ‎12‎/‎20‎/‎2018 at 8:13 AM, Moshe said:

That is awesome.  There is nothing wrong with sentimental.  I have a Mossberg 1300 Defender 8 shot, original wood, and bluing, pristine.  They are hard to find that way these days.  When my father had an FFL, I bought one from him.  Yes, there was no "give" in my house, you bought at wholesale.  So, that was my first 12 gauge I obtained after I got rid of the 16 gauge hanging on the gun rack in my room.  Like a schmuck I sold it later in life.  A local LGS was having a shotgun sale.  I usually, look at them, they usually have the bluing messed up, or it looked like someone hit it with a tree, etc.  This was one was pristine, so I bought.  Took it home, test fired it for function, now it just lives in the safe.

Nice purchase. I have loved Enfield rifles for years and consider them the finest bolt action military rifle ever used in battle.  On the black finish; Years ago when I was cleaning up my first Enfield, I was curious about the really hard paint on a No.4 MK 1 WW II rifle.  An elderly British gentleman who came to the U.S. after the war looked at my rifle one day at a range and when I mentioned the hardness of the paint, he stated that was not "paint" on the original production rifles. He said after each stage of production the oils were baked on and became a very hard final finish, and that paint was only later used on some of the arsenal repaired rifles. I have no idea if his information was correct or not but he seemed to know what he was talking about and ended up shooting 10 rounds through my rifle - very accurately - with a big smile on his face.

[Moshe]

Enfield rifles were easier to find.  Now, they command a premium.  You can find a Mauser anywhere.

[Moeman]

Nestor great writeup.

has anyone tried an ultrasonic cleaner for the removal? Have a couple SKS rides slated away... I think removing wood and throwing the ultrasonic machine may just work. 

[Wyzz Kydd]

Very interesting.  Thanks.  This makes me want to take the Winchester 1897 shotgun out of my safe and 'customize' it.  It was manufactured in 1888, so 131 years old.  If I was handier I would try to clean her up.

[Nestor]

Wife runs the rifle for the first time at 25 meters.

[Nestor]

Nice trigger. Less recoil than Mosin Nagant. I may start bidding on the old, Redfield receiver sight for this rifle.

[janice6]

5 minutes ago, Nestor said:

Wife runs the rifle for the first time at 25 meters.

I hope you both have a great time reliving history!  Nice work.