MAS 36 paint and finish?

[Number6]

I have 3 MAS 36s. One was a $68 POS which I won't be wasting any more time on. The 2 from Numrich are pretty nice and complete for $36 each.

To the point: All have black paint on the metal, but it's mostly scraped off. Looks bad. When I refinish, I suppose black paint would be correct, and not blueing, since all look the same?
Brownell's sells something special, I bet. Help, comments?

As for the wood,.... One stock is sorta grimy and black. The other, I can actually see the original wood and color. Same stuff as the 49/56. I plan on starting with the nasty one and scrubbing it with Purple Power to see if that will make the wood show up. Once it dries, I'll know what I got. Probably use tung oil. Be starting this weekend.

Editorial part; I'll need to check the dates first, but I don't hold these in the same regard as the enfields or mausers. Makes me sound like a C&R snob. Maybe I'll change my mind once I get them to the range, or Guinny will find some significant historical data that will sway me. :-)

[Richard Simmons]

Bear in mind that the MAS 36 was the last bolt action rifle put into service by a major world power. The MAS 44, 49, 49/56 series of rifles were also made in fewer numbers than any modern firearm of a major nation. Only something like 300,000 of all three models combined were made. Compare that to the other major firearms that were made in tens of millions and the MAS series as a whole become very collectable IMO. You will see the prices for nice French rifles continue to increase in value. Now is really the time to take advantage of what is IMO a firearm ye to be fully appreciated.

[vonmazur]

I think that cleaning the metal first is very important, then having all the moisture out of the metal helps, semi-flat balck very light coat, then shiny varnish.....according to the French.

[Number6]

Thanks for the info. Wish I would have gotten the slings, but didn't have a catalog or part numbers then.
Over the weekend I started on the dirtiest of the two. The stocks, when new have a unique reddish color to them, like my 49/56. This 36 stock was just plain black & nasty, so I scrubbed it with Purple Power. Now the stock looks like black walnut. Maybe the caustic properties of PP have something to do with that. I'll use something less aggresive on the other one, but I really need to clean it. They are dirty from someone handling them with dirty greasy hands, not battle dirty.
This one's bayonet was bent, like it was stuck in wood and the owner expected it to support the weight of the rifle, which it didn't, of course. It also cracked the forestock, which I repaired.

For the metal, vonmazur's French formula should be correct, but I've decided to use Aluma Hyde II in semi-gloss for the toughness. Cures hard in a week. Just need to work up the minimum order for Brownell's.

As for their condition, they are in a lot worse shape than Enfields or Turks that are older. Is it that the French (of that time) just didn't care about taking better care of the arms that would save their lives, or some other underlying reason for their abominable condition? These MAS 36s are very abused and beat up. I hope I can resurrect them to look better than they did before going into storage.

[vonmazur]

According to GPC, they were not imported from France, but from a former colony, or a Wog Emirate of some kind.....

Dale in Ala

[Number6]

Ah, that explains a lot.

[Guinny_Ire]

I've got a green painted #6 on my rifle under the wrist between it and the trigger guard. While they came from the emirate of WOG LOL I'll bet they didn't start there depending on the year of mfg. Remember these guns were low production before, during and probably immediately after the war. My new friend Joe/voltigeur was one of the first in group of the FFL to recieve the 49/56 and that was about 1961 or so if I remember correctly from his webpage (I hope you all have checked it out). So I would imagine that as better equipment came along it was passed further on down the line til eventually France sold these rifles to said country.

[Tracy]

I finally got my MAS 36 from Numrich. There's some frosting in the grooves, but I'm not worried about that. The gun is complete and not too bad--not much worse than the VG VZ24 I got from Century a couple of months ago. I believe that the wood is Beech--the same wood that Enfield's are, generally, made of. Mine's been beat up some, so I guess a little light sanding isn't going to hurt anything.

The metal, on the other hand, is rather nasty. Some of it is a little rusty, so I guess a wire brush will be in order. Then I'll throw a light coat of paint on it.

The question I have concerns Vonmazur's comment about the varnish. Are you talking about a coat of clear gloss varnish? If that is the case, then I could buy some in a can and spray over the paint. I suppose that is to protect the paint?

I also noticed that Numrich did not send me a packing slip. It looks like a phone call is in order. I like to document those things for my license.

Any help with the varnish question would, as always, be appreciated.:)

[Number6]

Originally posted by Tracy

-snip-
I also noticed that Numrich did not send me a packing slip. It looks like a phone call is in order. I like to document those things for my license.
-snip-

My invoice was inside a yellow envelope that was packed with the gun.

[Tracy]

Originally posted by Number6

My invoice was inside a yellow envelope that was packed with the gun.

I got nuthin'. I even unfolded every shred of newspaper and opened the box at both ends. They said that they would mail me one.

[vonmazur]

I guess that most of the guns I have seen were repainted by the using unit, but I have seen some that were very nicely sprayed with flat black....I presume that touch-up was done to keep the troops busy, or to prevent rusting of worn areas. It can be duplicated very easily.......Be advised that lead based paints, are now banned in the US due to environmental insanity, but I have found a overseas source for the so called Sten Gun Paint, but it comes by surface shipment and takes forever!! (No I don't want to sell any...)

Dale in Ala

[Schuetzenman]

My advice would be to use Brownell's Baking Lacquer to refinish your Mas 36. You can do it in your oven. You'll need to clean all the old finish first. A good bead blasting wouldn't hurt either. Must be free of grease and oil, finger prints too.

[Tracy]

Thanks for the help, guys.:)