Here are just a few tips when buying parts listed as NOS , unissued or original finish. I see so many refinished parts on E-Bay being sold as NOS and original finish. There are some sellers trying to take advantage of those who don't know any better and a lot of sellers just don't know any better. It is up to the buyer to arm themselves with information when purchasing parts
First a real simple one is just look at the parts, are there scratches, pitting, dents under the finish? If so these are refinished parts.
Also just because parts come in wrap does not automatically make them NOS. Arsenal repacks can be used parts that were inspected for wear , if they passed they would be refinished and wrapped for future use. Also light gray in color parts, these were parts that were arsenal refinished later
The following does not cover everything but are a few things to look for
NOS gas cylinders do not have stacking swivels attached and threads are not parkerized. The gas cylinder in wrap on left is a used arsenal repack on right NOS
Stock Swivels, NOS on right, threads not parkerized, on left refinished
Stock ferrules when refinished the brazing tends to show, more on some than others. This can also happen on lower bands
NOS on right, refinished on left
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