| Venetian red | 1½ | pounds |
| Oxford yellow or French yellow | ½ | pound |
| Graphite | 6 | ounces |
| Liquid dryer | 1 | pint |
| Japan gold-size | 1 | " |
| Turpentine spirits | 1 | quart |
To be well ground and strained before using.
SECOND COAT.
| Venetian red | 1½ | pounds |
| Oxford yellow or French yellow | ½ | pound |
| Graphite | 6 | ounces |
| Sugar of lead | 2 | " |
| Liquid dryer | ½ | pint |
| Japan gold-size | 1 | " |
| Varnish (copal outside) | 1 | quart |
| Turpentine spirits | ½ | pint |
To be well ground and strained before using. All grease must be carefully removed from the gun before application.
The paint should be allowed at least 48 hours to harden after the first coat before applying the second, and twice that long (96 hours) after the second coat before handling.
Guns should ordinarily be painted once a year. It is injurious to the mechanism to frequently dismount it, as the parts are dented by being dropped, screw-threads injured, etc. They should at all times be kept in good order and free from rust and dust, particular attention being paid to the breech mechanism. Animal oil should not be used; fish-oil and cosmoline are best. The use of lard-oil is injurious, and in cold weather forms a stiff wax over all parts. Cotton waste and cosmoline are supplied for this purpose by the Ordnance Department, and the cosmoline should be freely used in the bore, breech, and on breech mechanism. Bright parts are preserved by applying with a brush or cloth a mixture of 1 pound white lead and ¼ pound tallow or lard-oil heated and mixed together. It can easily be removed with a cloth and a little turpentine.
Machine-guns.—Keep in dry storehouse, covered and well oiled with a mixture of equal parts of sperm-oil and kerosene-oil. Every two or three days they should be wiped off, a rag passed through the barrels, and fresh oil applied. The use of emery cloth or scouring material must be avoided.