Painting markings... Hurt or help value?

1

1940izhevsk

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Earlier I decided to paint the markings on my Mosin, to help distinguish markings better. My stepdad and I had a discussion to whether it'd help or hurt value. I personally think it helps due to easier visibility, my stepdad thinks it hurts due to modifying an old rifle. So there's my question... Painting markings... Hurt or help value?
 
I don't know about value, but I'd walk away from any firearm with paint on it. On that rifle the difference in value might not be enough to matter, but on some guns it would hurt.
 
I wouldn't do it on a pristine collector's rifle. I did do it on my VZ 58 with lacquer sticks just out of curiosity. I don't think it really helps or hurts the value of a utility rifle. I don't imagine the 1940 Izzy has much value anyways unless there's something special about yours.

I do like the red paint done on the Russian ladder sights for machine guns and infantry rifles, but I wouldn't consider it to have any effect on value unless it were professionally done
 
Any modifications to a collectible firearm are likely to make it less desirable to collectors.

It's best to stick to modifications that can be easily reversed with no damage to the firearm. There are ways to highlight markings in such a way that the marking material can be easily removed if so desired. White crayon is sometimes used.
 
I'm not sure which industry uses them, but I know that there are colored "pencils" (wax??) that can be used to fill in the markings with color, so they stand out. One friend of mine used gold, and done right, it looks like real gold inlay, until it starts to wear, which does take some time.

White would be good, just for ID and photos. One of the "pencils" will last for years, allowing simple easy touch up when needed.

There is no permanent change to the firearm, and it can be removed with just some energetic rubbing, unlike paint, which needs a solvent.
 
Look for "lacquer sticks" on Amazon. When you get tired of the look, the lacquer will easily clean up with acetone or mineral spirits.
 
Painting the markings (or some of them) may attract one out of a million potential purchasers. I'd do it ONLY if that was THE one purchaser I to whom I wanted to sell the firearm.:rolleyes:
 
White Crayola Crayons work well and are cheap to fill in the markings on a gun. China Marker which are basically the same thing (Grease Pencils) work the same.

You can use both to fill in the lettering on firearms. Both will stick well and are easy to remove. Rub them into the engraving and wipe off the excess. Really easy to do. I did a Glock 17 back in the day .
 
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As a mosin nagant collector I dont see the point in doing that and I wouldn't pay more for it. I'd personally take the paint off.
 
Most Morin nagants don't hold any real collectors value. If you sold it with the colored lettering I don't believe you would get any more/less for it than you would any other one. If you like the way it looks do it. It's your gun. If done right it will be easily UN done.

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On some of my rifles I "paint" mark the sights. I don't care about collector values but I like to see my sight markings.

I have marked some serial numbers to make sure I can read and record them, but I clean the paint or what ever I used.

If some one don't like the marking on a rifle you want to sell, then clean the paint off.
 
I wouldn't buy a gun someone painted. I suspect most people would answer the same way especially when a China marker would work just as well and is easy to remove.
 
I've bought several guns where someone had painted the front sight, usually red, and one that had the lettering colored in with something. I don't care for guns with paint on them, but it was simple to remove it with a bit of acetone as part of the initial cleaning I'd do on any gun, so the fact they'd been painted didn't affect their value to me one way or another.
 
I have done my research. Some may hold some value, but most of them were so widely produced that there is just simply nothing significant about them. That is the reason you could find them for so cheap not very long ago. The growing popularity of the rifle is what triggered the rise on price, not historical value. The ones worth collecting have always been worth more. I am not referring to these. Just to clarify, I do like my mosin. I think it is a very capable rifle and the 7.62x54R is a very effective round. I am one of those who dislikes hearing people talk trash about them. Fact is, they were cheaply made and mass produced. Not the definition of something that holds any kind of collectors value.

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Fact is, they were cheaply made and mass produced. Not the definition of something that holds any kind of collectors value.
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It matters not that they were mass produced and cheaply made. Currently they you may not consider them a collector's item, but they have not made any more WWII firearms since WWII. In my lifetime I saw a wooden barrel full of pristine Springfield O3A3 going for $70 each. Even at that price they were generally viewed with contempt because of the pressed trigger guard and floor plate. What price would they command nowadays one may ask.

It is the same with Mosin's...they ain't making any more of them, the price will continue to climb as their availability wanes. Note, in my misspent youth, you could hardly give away Russian Mosin-Nagants. So, just wait a few years. Oh, did I mention $40 war time Walther P38s and $50 Lugers?
 
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