I just purchased a m1 and it is one of the nicest I have ever seen. It is a Springfield and from the serial number it was produced in January of 1945. my question is,what was the original finish on the gas cylinder? I have seen some silver ,some parkerized and some black. mine appears to have been painted black.
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If it's silver, there is no finish left. What you're seeing is the bare stainless steel. There were all kinds of finishes tried. It's hard to get something to stick to stainless steel.
Jon -
I believe the original black finish on your gas cylinder in 1945 was sodium dichromate. It was definitely the finish used in the early/mid 50’s production. As mentioned earlier different finishes were tried and WRA used a different technique than SA during the war. When all else failed, or in the field the manual calls for the use of flat black, baking-type, synthetic resin base paints which will adhere firmly to stainless steel. They were baked on.Comment
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Caswell's stainless blackener does an excellent and permanent job. I've done a dozen successfully but you need access to a bead blaster for proper prep.
See this file: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n5hluc4u2b...kener.doc?dl=0
Or PM me and we can discuss options.
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I agree with Larry, that stuff works well. I have done some without blasting and they turned out fine but others not so good. As he suggested best way is to blast firstComment
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photo of Winchester factory gas cylinder finishComment
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The stacking swivel screw sure could use a good scrub-a-dub.....Comment
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Phil, it has since been cleaned-up, old photo from 2011, here are some additional photosComment
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