Is a coin finish, or brushed finish, essentially in the white aka no finish?

This Alfred London I'm fixing up was old gun, deep rusty brown patina, and I wouldn't think it was color cased. If that's right, what would be an acceptable finish after the rust is cleaned off. Since some things needed to be blued, based on other English SLE's I've seen, I went ahead and soaked everything in rust remover. The parts not yet blued are grey, which is fine, but dull.

My thought is that just a slight bit of shine would be nice, and perhaps inking the engraving just a bit. I'd appreciate some perspectives on brushed and/or coined finishes. This is not a restoration endeavor; just putting a gun back in use with a decent appearance.

Thank you.

Try running over your carding wheel slowly .

Is that essentially what a coin finish is? Is clear coat used when engraving is inked to protect it?
Thanks.

Coin Finish is kind of a catch all term for the gray finish steel.
I'm sure there are lots of definitions on the net all claiming to be the correct one. But as far as making it appear, there are many ways. Here are just a couple.

Some is actually dull nickel or other plating over a frosted/blasted surface. Very good protection of course.

Some is raw steel that has been bead blasted or soda blasted to dull the surface. These raw steel surfaces will rust very quickly in the open air though. Must be protected and a clear coating is advisable

Other ways to get the look are just what you have done,,treat it to a phosphoric acid dip (rust remover).
Turns it a gray tone depending on the steel. You can even up the look with some careful work with common erasers while the stuff is still working on the steel. Works pretty well actually.

A trip through a soln of some brands of toilet bowl cleaner will do it too. Sounds a bit weird, but they have lye and aluminum in it among other things and through all the bubbling and fizzing will impart a nice gray tone to the steel. Tidy Bowl was the #1 recommended product,,for gun finishing as I recall! Never tried it myself..

I've used a very dilute Nitric acid soln (1 tsp/gal water room temp). That works well too. Constant sweeping agitation with a small brush helps even the color as it slowly appears.
Don't try to help it along by heating or strengthening the soln. It will etch quickly and then pit if you're not careful depending on the steel.
It does have a tendency to show up spot hardened areas in some mfg parts w/ a darker color but that can be toned back w/the eraser thing. Worked great on Brownings.

Some call the acid approach passivating (sp?) the steel. Don't know if that's correct, I'm not a chemist and don't pretend to be.
Bluing and browning are of that realm,,a protective oxide layer on the steel.
I'd still keep oil on the surface just like I do with a blued firearm though.

Another way is to put the part(s) in the water while Express rust bluing.
No soln is put on the parts, they just sit in the boiling water while you go about bluing other parts. Once in a while you pull the 'to be gray' parts out and card them to even up the now gray color on them and back into the water they go.
There's enough residue in the water from the rust bluing process as you go along to form a gray color on those parts needing just that.
This method works well, but not everyone rust blues and even fewer Express rust blue.

All sorts of different ways, but unless any of them are a plated finish for the purpose,,I make sure that they get wiped down with oil just like any other blued surface for protection.
a very thin clear coat isn't a bad idea either. Same idea as is put over case color often times.

I had always thought that the original coin finish was simply case hardened finish that had been polished. It was not the same as French gray and didn't require any acids or other applications. Is that incorrect?

My old German gunsmith friend staunchly refused to use any acid to arrive at a coin type finish. If it had been blued (engraving shows up very well)he would start with worn out 320 grit cloth, backed by files. Then he would switch to oiled steel wool, dipped into fine emery abrasive. working in small circles, he would blend and even the color, until he was satisfied with the appearance. As for myself, I just use steel wool, loaded with fine or very fine valve grinding compound. Clover brand is the compound available in my area. When finished, just flush the abrasive residue off and oil as usual.
Mike

Flitz polish will take the case coloring right off, using nothing but the polish and a piece of burlap. toilet bowl cleaner will also take it off.