Mackay,
Sorry I�m so late to the dance. That�s a nice C-Series Hi Power indeed, I�d guesstimate the value at right around $1,000.00, perhaps a little more if you find someone who truly appreciates such a fine classic pistol. I believe the red paint on the grips was to protect against �salt wood� that Browning was cursed with at the time. Many Hi Power & Safari series rifles were adversely affected with wood that was �salt cured� which left the wood impregnated with salt. Browning bought a LOT of that wood and it turns out almost all of it was bad. I believe they heat dried the wood and made pistol grips out of what was salvageable and painted the inside of the grips as an additional barrier to corrosion from salt cured wood. Honestly I�ve never seen rust under red grips that was any worse than rust under any other wood grip. Wood grips will retain moisture, simple as that. It seems that the red paint solution was an effective one; I wouldn�t change those grips.
