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P59 advice

13th battalion

Active Member
Hi, I've got a 1941 p59 ammunition box. Overall it's in a pretty rusty state but as I've rubbed at the rust, the stencilling has come through. It says GRENADE RIFLE ...68 A.T. M(2 letters that I can't make out) Underneath this in red, it looks like 20 and then a word I can't make out. My question is this, should I leave the box as it is, maybe lightly sanding the rust off or rub it down completely and reprint and restencil it. I don't want to do anything that might ruin a piece of history. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
 
I would lightly rub the loose surface rust off and spray it over with a satin acylic lacquer.......you'll be suprised how this 'brings up' the original stencilling.
 
with some of my rustier metal boxes I have gently removed all the rust that I can ( very fine steel wool or brass wire brush for harder bits ) , then gently warmed the tin in the oven to drive off ant residual moisture . While still warm I melt a thin layer of beeswax over the whole tin and allow to cool, I then polish it over with a soft cloth . This seems to prevent any further appearance of rust and brings up the markings very well .
 
with some of my rustier metal boxes I have gently removed all the rust that I can ( very fine steel wool or brass wire brush for harder bits ) , then gently warmed the tin in the oven to drive off ant residual moisture . While still warm I melt a thin layer of beeswax over the whole tin and allow to cool, I then polish it over with a soft cloth . This seems to prevent any further appearance of rust and brings up the markings very well .

You're either single or have a very understanding wife. I once used an old saucepan on our gas cooker to melt some lead, internal doors were closed, back kitchen door was open but it stank the house out. The smell hadn't cleared by the time Mrs XT arrived home. It went down like the proverbial balloon. Still, I had consolidated all my lead. But I won't be repeating that.
 
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