Questions about an old vise

[Hoot]

OK, I know these are stupid questions, and I'm probably "over-thinking" this whole thing, but I just want to do things right.

I bought a really nice Morgan vise from Alex71 on this board. It has the Chicago trademark, and was manufactured between the 1920's and 1940's. I cleaned it up, ordered a couple of small parts for it, and started thinking about painting it. But I can't really decide on a color. I'm leaning towards basic black, but was wondering if anyone knew what the orginal color would of been. It was painted black when I got it, but I couldn't tell if that was the original color.

Also, what's the best method of lubricating the outside edges of the moveable jaw slides. Grease seems like the obvious answer, but that also seems like grease could get inadvertently transferred to things that get put in the vise as well. Would a spray-on graphite lube be better? Or, keep it simple and use just a little grease on the slide?

Lastly, would wheel-bearing grease work well for a vise? Or should I look for something heavier?

[old salvage]

OK, I know these are stupid questions, and I'm probably "over-thinking" this whole thing, but I just want to do things right.

I bought a really nice Morgan vise from Alex71 on this board. It has the Chicago trademark, and was manufactured between the 1920's and 1940's. I cleaned it up, ordered a couple of small parts for it, and started thinking about painting it. But I can't really decide on a color. I'm leaning towards basic black, but was wondering if anyone knew what the orginal color would of been. It was painted black when I got it, but I couldn't tell if that was the original color.
My opinion: Black only looks good when its real Japanning and on older 19th century-ww1 era vises, otherwise it looks ugly.
Also, what's the best method of lubricating the outside edges of the moveable jaw slides. Grease seems like the obvious answer, but that also seems like grease could get inadvertently transferred to things that get put in the vise as well. Would a spray-on graphite lube be better? Or, keep it simple and use just a little grease on the slide?

Lastly, would wheel-bearing grease work well for a vise? Or should I look for something heavier?
I wouldnt lube the outside of the slide. Just use heavy grease on the underside of the slide and on the screw.

[Hoot]

Thanks for the advice. I wasn't "feeling" the black either...... And the thanks for the tip on greasing the slide.