Mills grenade finishes

[Bannerman]

I understand the majority of Mills grenades were coated with shellac. I have seen some examples painted black. Might these have been produced so finished or might these have been painted later whilst in service? I would have thought painting of munitions once in service stores would be out of the question, akin to any form of adjustment/tampering? Are Mills grenades seen painted in any other colours?

Would I be right in believing that in time the shellac coating fades to matt and then eventually to nothing? I have a 1945 No36M Mk 1 where the shellac is bright and shiney, but not as bright as it was when I acquired it 20 years ago. I have a 1940 example (same manufacturer) where the varnish has gone matt, except for in the grooving. I've seen many older examples where no varnish is visible at all giving the appearance of bare metal but with no rust.

What causes pitting to the surfaces of some examples? I have a 1917 No36 mk1 which showed no varnish, a few traces of rust and a number of surface flaws where flakes or small chunks of metal appear to have cracked away/split off. I am no metalurgist, but would I be right to believe that this occured as a result of cast iron's brittle nature being affected by exposure to extreme swings in temperature, in particular freezing conditions?

Bruno

 

[Bannerman]

Hi all,

Has anyone any ideas/info on this? Maybe I should have posted on Restoration and Preservation?

Cheers

Bannernam

 

[Infanteer]

I don't have any informed explanations to give you, only my own theories. How often was the shiney Mills bomb you have handled in those 20 years? I believe that the shine and quality of the shellac is affected by being physically handled and by being exposed to less than ideal storage conditions (ie: high humidity and UV light). There are still examples of WW2 No36 bombs that have most of their varnish and are still shiney which indicates to me that if stored correctly and not handled frequently that the finish will last for a very long time.

As for the color, a post war ammunition storage and handling pamphlet that's in my collection describes the color of the No36 as black. Whether or not the finish was changed to black at some point I don't know. It could just be a poor explanation of the color of the shellac on the bombs.

 

[Nismosonic]

I have grenade training manual dated 1937 for Mills, in there it describes the grenades as being black with a red top!, and practice variants as being black with a white band around centre of body.

 

[Bannerman]

Infanteer and Nismosonic,

Many thanks for your input. My grenades get handled a lot and you could well be right here; hand sweat can be very corrosive, differing in destructive strength from individual to individual. Hence you see people handling historic artefacts on TV wearing white cotton gloves. I have not got to this stage yet!

Also the point about exposure to UV rays etc. makes sense; I'm sure that over the years I've displayed my collection in spots where it has sat for long periods in direct sunlight. I'll be paying a lot more attention to this in future.

Following advice I have picked up from other posts here on the forum, I've treated my grenades on the outside with beeswax polish and (where possible) the inner body surfaces with gun oil. They look very good and I'm hoping the wax will prevent any further deterioration and allow continued handling.

I have definitely seen several examples of black No.36 (M) grenades, with genuine looking filler markings, the finish giving the impression of black enamel, rather than shellac.

Thanks again,
Bannerman

 

[Bomber Machin]

Hi, just been looking at your thread cos I am in the process of renovating a couple of WW1 grenades and I need to know the colour...
If they were coated in shellac then handling them would cause the shine to fade. Another name for shellac is french polish which is an organic substance made from beetle shite. French polish was used to coat furniture to protect the wood and give it a shine. if it gets even slightly wet it will stain and go dull, that is the reason why really old furniture will sometimes have ring marks on top surfaces made by glasses with wet bottoms and the reason why beer mats were invented. To coat a grenade in it with give it a shine but the sweat from handling it, and the heat from your hand will in time make it go dull, plus strong sunlight and heat will make it crack and peel especially if on metal. Shellac in its natural form is a yellowelly-brown colour, the stuff you might buy today may have dyes in it to stain the wood so you may not get the right colour. If you do use shellac I would apply a couple of coates of clear thin polyurathane varnish on top of it to stop it dulling, but really i would would use something else such as enamel paint and varnish. The reason I know this is cos I make repro furniture. Hope some of this helps - but I still dont know what the colour should be... Ha!

 

[Bannerman]

Thanks for your detailed response. Most helpful. Beetle shite indeed!

With regard to the actual colour, the grenades in my collection vary from dark brown to light brown/khaki to olive green (described as deep bronze green in the army manual). These grenades are WW2 and later. My only WW1 example is bare metal, finish completely faded.

If you have not already done so, may I suggest you look at the mills grenade website (millsgrenades.co.uk) where the colour variations I have described are graphically illustrated. Again, many of the WW1 examples are faded, but you should get the idea.

Good luck with your restorations

Cheers,
Bannerman