The Indian Ishapore armory painted the metal of the Enfields they produced. Most of the rifles being 30-60 years old look like crap as cleaning solvents soften the pain and the paint flakes off from wear.
Nothing wrong with blueing, if you take care of your firearms. If you leave your guns bouncing around in the back ofyour pickup truck or are apt to leave it laying out side in the rain overnight, blueing is not hte finish you want.Contrary to what some posters have stated, blueing does offer pretty good rust protection so long as you don't expose it to salt water and wipe your greasy (salty)prints off after handling it. Even stainless will rust under the same conditions, but it takes longer.