Did they ever paint Victories?

[Muss Muggins]

I guarantee somebody over the years has painted one . . .

 

[DWalt]

"they were "Black Magic" (Parkerized) from the factory."

Black Magic was the industrial hot-dip oxide blue used for a brief period (sometimes referred to as brush blue) prior to the adoption of the Phosphate finish. The Phosphate finish was apparently called Military Midnight Black. And Pate's book is incorrect on this point.

 

[Rute Boye]

Many/most of the Victory revolvers imported from Australia went through the Factory Thorough Repair process before being exported. These are marked "FTR" with a date stamp showing when the FTR was done. Most I've seen are 1953-55. These FTR guns also had a very dark phosphate finish that looks like matte paint applied to them prior to export. Most I've seen are in pristine condition. It could be that your friend has one of these guns.

 

[Texas Star]

Some of the painted guns may have come from Commonwealth countries like India. I think any official ones would be FTRs after Indian independence in 1947.

But this may just be a Bubba job after the guns came to the USA.

The War Finish marking on .38 Webleys has nothing to do with any paint, and I've never seen a painted one. It refers to the tool marks that'd usually be polished off on peacetime guns. And the bluing isn't as good as on normal production.

 

[deadin]

Here's a Webley No.4 Mk2 marked "War Finish". (on the other side). It appears to be a phosphate finish of some sort.