Bob,
The engraving doesn't look "grubby" to me. The wood is in beautiful shape. If you'd like to try something you might spray the grubby area Ballistol, let it soak a while and then gently go at it with a tooth brush. I don't "think" this would remove any case color and Balllistol will not harm the wood or its finish.
Good luck.
Phil
an ultra-sonic cleaner will do the best job with no damage to anything. You might even find some color under the grime.
I'd just gently use some Renaissance wax on it it.
Bob. Ring me I am only at the most 1 hour from you. I do this work all the time. 01740 631110.
To do it properly the gun needs to be stripped down , thoroughly cleaned and re-lacquered . If you try to do anything with it assembled you run risk of marking/marring the wood . If you don't re-lacquer then the remaining colour is at risk of rapid deterioration .
I'd just gently use some Renaissance wax on it it.
Good Point:
I suspect that many on this forum don't know just what a nice job a hard wax such as Ren wax does of gently cleaning as well as protecting firearms.
Along with not damaging case coloring it will pull surface rust out of blueing without damaging the blueing as well.
Jim
Renaissance isn't a hard wax....fact is I don't think it's really a wax.
As gunman said these guns reqire a service. Your last pic, slight mark on right barrel. Are these guns Sleeved?? If you don't know you should have them checked out with JF he is the best sleever in the business.
Thanks for the tips guys. I have just been on the telephone to
John Foster and I am off to pay him a visit this morning to get the guns cleaned and serviced.
Bob
Bob,
Would you please post "after" pics?
Phil
I will certainly try to post some "after" photos when I get the guns back.
Many thanks to everyone for all the good ideas and sound advice.
Bob
Are these guns Sleeved?? If you don't know you should have them checked out with JF he is the best sleever in the business.
Good catch...I'm betting it was originally Damascus barreled.
Still a nice refinished gun.
I'm surprised that this piece of advice was not yet mentioned because it's the engraver's best kept secret.
Go to the store and buy a multi-pack of Pink rectangular pencil erasers. They must be the ones that are pink that have been around forever made by whatever that company is that has the monopoly on pink erasers.
Work over your gun's metal and engraving vigorously until you've used up one or two of the erasers.
The pink eraser gets hot and tacky from friction and will soften the grime and then whisk it away. The gun will look absolutely spectacular afterwards with no chance of removing any metal at all. It's amazing how something so simple can make such a big difference.
I had a drilling that was prolifically engraved a few years ago and when I got it everything looked shallow and lifeless. After I used an eraser for an hour the gun's metal looked as new and the engraving was back to the original depth after all the invisible grime had been removed.
The pink eraser trick also removes microscopic surface rust so the engraved channels seem to shine more, just as was intended by the artist's hand.
And will probably remove all traces of case coloring....
I have a Winchester 501 Presentation grade that when I bought it I didn't know that it had a silver inlaid border around it. After using a pink eraser it now looks like new again. It did nothing to the blued receiver engraving that I can tell, I don't know if it effects case color or not.
The guns are not sleeved, made circa 1938 would seem to be a bit late for damascus.
There are no proof marks indicating sleeved barrels.
Bob
i wouldn't use pink pearl erasers on old case colors.
I use erasers at times to remove case colors & sometimes bluing around inlays or cut figures for a grey tone effect.
Go easy with them. They are abrasive. Some more than others. Finding out how much more could be disheartening.
They do an excellent job brightening up inlays but again be careful of the surrounding metal finish.
Even the softest of them can pick up a speck of hard material or dirt while cleaning and a few swipes of it accross the surface will leave you with some never before seen scratches in the blue or C/C.
Cleaning engraving of old dried oil, finish and grime takes some time and careful techniques if you're determined to preserve the remaining finish and/or patina.
It's not a scrub and rinse type of operation.
