i need to know if i should reblue my wwII enfield?, will it lower it's value?

Yes it will lower the value.  If it is a POS now, it wont matter.  Is it British or American or a maker of interest??

Aren't enfields typically parkerized?  You'd have to strip off all the parkerizing first, which is a pain in the ass unless there is nifty method of doing so that I am unaware of.

no, it is a british, and it is a very nice gun, just wondering if i should reblue it or not

Lower the value?Right now they are a dime a dozen,unless it was the enfield Montgomery carried through north africa,no.Will improving its looks enhance your pride in the ownership of the rifle?Probably.The first enfield I bought I paid $50 for it,redid the stock,did one of the cold blue jobs where you dip it in the bathtub between coats,had to sell it a year later when the transmission of the wifes car took a dump,got allmost $200 for it,but YMMV.

worn finish on any rifle like this gives it character in my eyes,if it opreates fine maybe consider just enjoying the fine workhorse your firearm is( no tinkering) if you were going to spoterize I'd say go for it,,,,just a simpletons opinion mind ya'


* eta a 1917 Lithgow S.M.L.E and Savage manufactured owner here.

I have the same dilemma with my 1941 Lithgow SMLE. The uber-poopy cheap glossy black paint was about 90% flaked off on mine, so I took the rest off, and it ended up just looking old and junky (but better than with the paint flecks still on). Then I took a damp cloth + large amounts of Bar Keeper's Friend (and a whole lotta scrubbin') and took off all the age tarnish/grime on the metal. Now the finish just look really bare/kinda old (but better than before).

I've read on GunBoards (posted by a very, very Enfield-savvy poster) that there are special considerations to take into account when parkerizing an Enfield. Anybody know of some specialists that can trustworthily re-park (and perhaps re-finish the wood on) an Enfield?

I'm not even entirely sure I want it re-finished. I mean, yeah, I would have a lot more love/pride for a good-lookin' rifle, but it DOES have some history...being made in Australia in 1941. IIRC, however, the original finish was parkerized in the first place and the paint was just added post-war in India. So, in theory, re-parking it could be considered historical restoration. In theory.

It was painted when it began life.

Repaint it.

Lots of options.

El cheapo grill paint to the duracoat et all.

Refinishing may hurt it value down the road but it will not hurt the value today, if done right if anything it will help the current value.

If it was a cheap piece of crap when you got it and you refinish it and fix it up it will typically increase slightly in value...

But if it was nice to begin with and you refinish it it will typically drop in value.

I tend to leave them as history gave them to me....but then I'm a purist.

I NEARLY refinished the first Enfield I ever bought - a rare Sparkbrook No1. That gun today is worth $1000+, and had I dug into the finish, I would have cut that value down considerably.

Do you KNOW that what you have is a POS?

I am thinking go all out and be the ultimate Arfcom commando and get it parked, put rails all over it, a bipod, Aimpoint, Phantom FH, folding stock, etc, feel free to add to the list.

I might be wrong, but it was my understanding that the Enfields were parked and then painted with what the Brits call "stove black"...black paint. I'm not sure if they were ever blued.(I'm talking WWII guns) If they wern't, then why bother to blue it in the first place? A pint of black paint should suffice for a quick orginial restoration...

mine is a all matching indian contract, it is in very nice shape, i put it in the ultra sonic machine and black paint came off. i was like WTF. so i am just gonna leave it like is. i will buy a better one some day but for now this is one of my favorites

Quoted: I might be wrong, but it was my understanding that the Enfields were parked and then painted with what the Brits call "stove black"...black paint. I'm not sure if they were ever blued.(I'm talking WWII guns) If they wern't, then why bother to blue it in the first place? A pint of black paint should suffice for a quick orginial restoration...

Suncorite. Painted on, then 'stoved' (baked).

But there were also blued and parked Enfields, as well.

Krylon is about as close as you'll get stateside for cheap.

It'll lower it's value, but the people that built her made her to shoot.

Quoted: Quoted: I might be wrong, but it was my understanding that the Enfields were parked and then painted with what the Brits call "stove black"...black paint. I'm not sure if they were ever blued.(I'm talking WWII guns) If they wern't, then why bother to blue it in the first place? A pint of black paint should suffice for a quick orginial restoration... Suncorite. Painted on, then 'stoved' (baked). But there were also blued and parked Enfields, as well. Krylon is about as close as you'll get stateside for cheap.

Alumahyde II from Brownells is a near-perfect match for Suncorite, FWIW.