Fixing the steel finish on a Tula Mosin?

[Sledgecrowbar]

I just bought my first Mosin Nagant 91/30, a 1936 Tula, numbers-matching on all except the bayonet (it's common not to having a matching bayonet), with an unblemished stock and a medium-quality bore (I haven't finished cleaning the bore yet, it might be better than that). After two days of cleaning the cosmoline and crud, I'm fighting with myself over refinishing the stock, I would do it with the same finish and color just to be accurate, but the shellac isn't *awful* (yet - it flakes easily when bothered).

I want to take it to the range for some light plinking but not as my main toy. At the same time, I think I'd like it to be an heirloom because it is in nice shape for a wall-hanger that shoots. If I do the stock, I will probably want to fix the steel as well, but this gun was painted with black lacquer over areas that wore bright to bring it back up to military spec before being crated up. As far as what's right and wrong on an historic rifle, if I've already gone and refinished the furniture, can I spot-fix the steel? It's a rough black finish, I'm not even sure what was used to make the finish but it looks like powdercoating (I don't know if powdercoating even existed back in the 50's when M-N's were put into storage).

Or should I leave it alone entirely and just finish cleaning the bore, oil it up, shoot it when I feel like it and have something more valuable to pass on? I do know all about the corrosive ammo, I'll be using non-surplus ammo for this gun because I want to reload it.

 

[rcmodel]

Clean it, Shoot it.

Nothing you can do to a worn Mosen is going to add any more value to it then it was worth before doing it.

If you want something valuable to pass on?
You maybe shoulda bought a nice old Winchester.

rc

 

[Steel Horse Rider]

I think they just spray painted the bare spots before throwing them in the crate. It is never going to become a valuable weapon but it is a nifty piece of history that you can shoot for entertainment and recreation. Do to it what you like without fear of harming the future value (well, maybe don't paint it with camoflage or some other irritating paint color). I have seen pictures of several refinished Mosin stocks that I think were enhanced by the new finish. I have one that I have been working on the accurizing tips provided in another thread, one that I am considering refinishing, and another I want to adapt perhaps a Japanese type 99 peep sight to fit. Mosin's are still $99 at a local gun store here so there is a lot of room for experimentation!