M39 bought on GunBroker has surprising finish

[Lp1911]

Hi, I bought this gun with a B barrel. The pictures were not ideal, and perhaps I am finding out why. The bore is shiny and looks pretty clean. But the outside of the barrel, sights and receiver feel rough.

6A38522F-C3A3-4366-990F-1D6E7B079028.jpeg

Any idea what that is?

[millman]

Looks like someone Parkerized it.

[Lp1911]

Any way to restore it to its original condition?

[millman]

Not really. I bet it shoots well. As far as I know, the Finns didn't Parkerize anything.

[Lp1911]

Very good quote by C.S. Lewis...

[millman]

Very good quote by C.S. Lewis...

Thanks. I thought it was relevant to our modern times.

[Darryl]

We have seen that finish on other Mosins. They were not Parked, but looked like it.
I wonder if there was a problem with the temperature or the chemicals or maybe prep. when they blued the rifle?
I wouldn't touch it myself. Unique. Just go shoot it!

Darryl

[SA1911a1]

The rifles with that finish were captured from the Finns and were stored in the armory at Chernobyl. The nice thing is, if you take it out at night, you won't need a flashlight to guide your way.

[Lp1911]

We have seen that finish on other Mosins. They were not Parked, but looked like it.
I wonder if there was a problem with the temperature or the chemicals or maybe prep. when they blued the rifle?
I wouldn't touch it myself. Unique. Just go shoot it!

Darryl

It does not have the color I would expect from parkerizing, and I don’t think bluing can ever cause this roughness. Either Finns were experimenting with the finish, or it was done after importing, though not sure how. Anyhow, I do intend that shoot it as I would never resell it without mentioning the surface roughness and that would end up being at a loss.

[B24]

I have a M39 that just the magazine looks like this. I would describe it as a grainy flat black.

[Junk Yard Dog]

We have seen that finish on other Mosins. They were not Parked, but looked like it.
I wonder if there was a problem with the temperature or the chemicals or maybe prep. when they blued the rifle?
I wouldn't touch it myself. Unique. Just go shoot it!

Darryl

It does not have the color I would expect from parkerizing, and I don’t think bluing can ever cause this roughness. Either Finns were experimenting with the finish, or it was done after importing, though not sure how. Anyhow, I do intend that shoot it as I would never resell it without mentioning the surface roughness and that would end up being at a loss.

The M39's were imported long ago, they were cheap at the time, and not hugely in demand. It would not have been economically worthwhile for an importer, or dealer to parkerize them. Not even Century would have bothered for a rifle selling under a hundred bucks. Later on when M39's became more popular with collectors there was pretty much only one supplier, Burns, and they weren't parking anything, just selling them off as quickly as possible.

[Lp1911]

We have seen that finish on other Mosins. They were not Parked, but looked like it.
I wonder if there was a problem with the temperature or the chemicals or maybe prep. when they blued the rifle?
I wouldn't touch it myself. Unique. Just go shoot it!

Darryl

It does not have the color I would expect from parkerizing, and I don’t think bluing can ever cause this roughness. Either Finns were experimenting with the finish, or it was done after importing, though not sure how. Anyhow, I do intend that shoot it as I would never resell it without mentioning the surface roughness and that would end up being at a loss.

The M39's were imported long ago, they were cheap at the time, and not hugely in demand. It would not have been economically worthwhile for an importer, or dealer to parkerize them. Not even Century would have bothered for a rifle selling under a hundred bucks. Later on when M39's became more popular with collectors there was pretty much only one supplier, Burns, and they weren't parking anything, just selling them off as quickly as possible.

So you think that a few M39s were finished with this rough bluing? It’s not terrible looking, just matte and not smooth to the touch.

[Darryl]

We have seen that finish on other Mosins. They were not Parked, but looked like it.
I wonder if there was a problem with the temperature or the chemicals or maybe prep. when they blued the rifle?
I wouldn't touch it myself. Unique. Just go shoot it!

Darryl

It does not have the color I would expect from parkerizing, and I don’t think bluing can ever cause this roughness. Either Finns were experimenting with the finish, or it was done after importing, though not sure how. Anyhow, I do intend that shoot it as I would never resell it without mentioning the surface roughness and that would end up being at a loss.

The M39's were imported long ago, they were cheap at the time, and not hugely in demand. It would not have been economically worthwhile for an importer, or dealer to parkerize them. Not even Century would have bothered for a rifle selling under a hundred bucks. Later on when M39's became more popular with collectors there was pretty much only one supplier, Burns, and they weren't parking anything, just selling them off as quickly as possible.

So you think that a few M39s were finished with this rough bluing? It’s not terrible looking, just matte and not smooth to the touch.

I've seen that finish ofn Finland rifles before. Not surprising to me. Something was different at the time!

Darryl

[Junk Yard Dog]

These were infantry rifles, looking pretty was not a requirement. They experimented with stock finishes often enough, why not metal finish also.