Sten MkII

**shaune** · 10-22-2022, 08:04 PM

Hi friends, i hope everybody is keeping well... i wondered if somebody might be able to advise on the finish of this sten gun please?
I have wanted a sten for years, and finally decided to go for it this week. Im generally really happy with it, i just wondered if the finish was original? I have read that the finish could be paint or blued?

There are some nice stamps on there, including a couple of crows foots - does anybody know of a serial number record for E&co to try to put an age to it?

Many thanks in advance,
Shaun

**GlennAgain** · 10-22-2022, 09:00 PM

I honestly can't tell the difference, but here's my Mk.3 for comparison...I gave it a Flat-Black Finish...

**BrodieBartfast** · 10-22-2022, 09:20 PM

I believe the blacking over the original bluing is postwar. Seems to be common on both British and Commonwealth weaponry. I have a No.4 rifle with this kind of finish, and used to have a Bren gun that was the same. I’m not sure when it was done or by whom, but it’s correct and military-applied.

B.B.

**Watchdog** · 10-23-2022, 02:13 AM

by BrodieBartfast

I believe the blacking over the original bluing is postwar. Seems to be common on both British and Commonwealth weaponry. I have a No.4 rifle with this kind of finish, and used to have a Bren gun that was the same. I’m not sure when it was done or by whom, but it’s correct and military-applied.

B.B.

I agree. It looks to me like the post war "rifle paint" called Suncorite which contained the very offensive ingredient tricoethylene which was virtually indestructible but as I say very nasty!

Regards

Mark

**shaune** · 10-23-2022, 09:02 AM

Thank you so much for the quick replies chaps, i really appreciate your comments... I havent heard of suncroite - just read about it now - eek! There is just so much to learn.., i thought the finish looked ok until a friend questioned it. The seller has been really helpful and offered to swap for the one below if we’d prefer?
These weapons have quite a life dont they!

**HARRY THE MOLE** · 10-23-2022, 10:52 AM

Most wartime Sten's were painted. After all, it was a cheap gun - so why bother going to the trouble of bluing it? Many were sold to Finland after the war and they virtually rebuilt them, got rid of the wartime paint and blued them. A lot of the deactivated Sten's on offer in the UK originate from Finland, and these can be identified by the sling swivel mounted on the barrel shroud - although these are sometimes removed.

Cheers,
Steve

**Watchdog** · 10-23-2022, 12:27 PM

by shaune

Thank you so much for the quick replies chaps, i really appreciate your comments... I havent heard of suncroite - just read about it now - eek! There is just so much to learn.., i thought the finish looked ok until a friend questioned it. The seller has been really helpful and offered to swap for the one below if we’d prefer?
These weapons have quite a life dont they!

I'm not surprised you have never heard of it. Suncorite 259 as I recall it was virtually never called that even by unit armourers who had it for touching up repairs etc. They just called it "rifle paint" because it was most commonly seen on the L1A1 SLR and L3A2 SMG. If used on larger areas of weapons it was applied in base workshops by spraying and oven baking. It was truly horrible stuff and any brush or spray gun used to apply it had to be cleaned immediately (ie no more than two minutes) with the proper cleaning fluid or they would be ruined. The finish was a kind of satin half gloss and was incredibly hard wearing. It would settle really badly in cans and took a massive amount of stirring if left for even a day or so. Any overspill onto the screw thread of the can neck had to be cleaned quickly or it would bond the cap so firmly that the can had to be cut open. I had a can in my shed but it ended up being binned for exactly that reason.

Worse than being so difficult to handle it was very toxic and carcinogenic . I think it is still in circulation but I would expect it to be very expensive and that there are better alternatives nowadays. However, back to the point. It looks exactly like the finish on your Sten.

I don't know what was applied to the wartime Stens but as Steve says it was paint rather than a phosphate or blueing.

Regards

Mark
PS Nearly forgot, the L9A1 Browning Hi-Power 9mm pistol had it too!

**shaune** · 10-23-2022, 05:31 PM

Thank you again for your comments eveyone. The rifle paints sounds exactly like the finish on my sten, very satin like...i do love these guns, the simplicty of design is very cool, and as you say, i guess blueing is quite an expensive process.... i’ll definitley wont disturb the finish on this one!

Can i just ask, Do you think its worth persevering for a war time finish? Or is it one of those areas where you can never be 100% percent sure anyway?

**HARRY THE MOLE** · 10-25-2022, 09:09 PM

Your best bet is to leave 'as is', its part of the history of the gun. There is nothing to be gained by trying to turn the clock back to what it might have looked like some 80 years ago.

Cheers,
Steve

**shaune** · 10-27-2022, 08:38 AM

Thanks Steve - will do. I guess its hard to be sure, the machine shops were probably constantly changing...

Does anybody know of a serial number registar for E & Co company? I’ve read that this is Elkington & co in Birmingham. It would be nice to put a year to it... even though i assume it only means the mag well was produced by them?
Thanks again for your help with this, as always...