I recently acquired a Lefever G grade that is functionally sound but all of the metal has a dull brown patina- no obvious pitting, no visible active rust. The gun is not worth a complete refinish but is there a way to safely clean the barrels, sideplates, etc.? I am not aiming for a bright polished look, more of a natural wear appearance.

an ultra-sonic cleaner will do wonders for the action. Once it comes out of the ultra-sonic any remaining rust will be soft and can be cut away with a sharpened piece of brass. You could just boil the barrels and convert the red/brown rust to black and card. Once converted to black oxide it is stable and will not rust further. Best of luck with it.
Steve

Do you have a good recommendation for an ultrasonic cleaner that will work well? There are about 12,000 on Ebay to choose from

I have had one of these I bought 15 years ago, best money I have ever spent. This one is dirt cheap too!

https://www.ebay.com/itm/L-R-Ultrasonics-STAINLESS-CLEANING-SYSTEM-Quantrex-140H-ULTRASONIC-CLEANING/132540681619?epid=23015449674&hash=item1edc0a4d93:g:~e4AAOSwKJFarASb

al, it seems that your excellent questions have been answered. If not, my apology for intruding. But, I'd like to ask Steve a question regarding the use of ultrasonic cleaners to do an occasional cleaning of doubleguns.

In your opinion, is it possible that ultrasonic can wear away case colors? It would seem that the use of any type of abrasive cleaner in the tank would hasten color fading. I have read of people using stuff like Spic-N-Span. But, could even a liquid type cleaner cause this due to the vibratory action?

Thanks, SRH

Stan,
I use a commercial solution, Chem-Crest 235, that I reduce to a very diluted form. It has no abrasives in it, I have not used spic and span. I would think you are correct in that any abrasives would wear on case colors. I have been amazed many times by putting something in the tank that looked brown or just covered in patina and once removed the engraving is sharper and some colors actually appear.

It works amazingly well and is the least intrusive method of cleaning I have encountered. You do have to be careful to blow off the excess fluid and oil immediately after removal from the tank or the metal is prone to rust. I have also heard of some damage from people using the wrong solutions. Great tool for the gunshop and one I would never be without.

Thanks for the reply, Steve. Can you reuse the 235 cleaner by filtering the impurities out of it? That stuff is pretty pricey.

SRH

I use a cleaner degreaser from the local dollar store called L.A.s totally awesome. 4parts water to 1 part degreaser .

After cleaning brown parts try Navel Jelly to remove the brown then buff up with an old carding wheel. Results should look dull gray. Not new but not brown and not a lot of work.

Stan,
I keep using it without filtering until the solution is just ugly as can be, think brown pond water. The dirt and grime settle to the bottom of the tank so I do not think they act as an abrasive. I have never noticed any harm from the dirty water. I only put just a couple of table spoons of chemcrest 235 in tank. The gallon of concentrate I have now is still about 1/4 full and I bought it 4 years ago. Pretty reasonable over time.
Steve

The advice to use Naval Jelly is absolutely something you do NOT want to do if you goal is to freshen up the original finish.

Naval Jelly is a phosphoric acid based rust remover that will remove the blue or patina, and replace it with a dull gray with white phosphate residue. The frosted etched surface it leaves behind even makes it unsuitable for use in a complete rebluing process unless you want to do a lot of polishing or end up with a dull matte finish. Save the Naval Jelly for brake drums and plows.

Naval jelly was for a Brown gun with no original finish and not to be fully restored. Like the one the thread was started about.

I agree with Keith.
Mike

Mark, as I understood the original post, the current brown finish is likely the original finish which has oxidized and slowly converted to a different form of iron oxide. SKB mentioned the possibility of reconverting that brown rust (ferric oxide) back to black rust (ferro-ferric oxide) by boiling and then carding after cleaning. I feel this is probably a very good way to go so long as the brown patina is even, and perfectly clean.

al didn't mention if his G grade Lefever has fluid or Damascus steel barrels. There is a very good possibility they are Damascus since Lefever ended production about the time that fluid steel was overtaking Damascus in popularity. If his barrels are Damascus, he may wish to take further steps to clean or etch to bring back the contrast in the pattern welded tubes.

I don't think I'd want to boil the action, sideplates, or forend iron. After cleaning with the ultrasonic cleaner or otherwise, often a light cleaning with oiled 0000 steel wool will remove light surface rust and reveal what may be left of the original case hardening colors. Abrasives like emery cloth or scotchbrite pads will scratch and remove any remaining case colors, but they will withstand light cleaning with the oiled steel wool so long as you don't get too heavy handed and make sure to use nothing coarser than 0000. Even faded or mottled case colors look better and more original on a vintage double than the high polish (or worse--- cold bluing) some people do. A good cleaning like this can do wonders for a dirty and neglected gun without resorting to complete refinishing.

I assumed we were talking a bought a brown action. While no substitute for full restoration here is an after photo of a brown gun.

Thanks Steve!

Anytime Al.
Steve

Is it truth or myth that ultrasonic cleaners can break V-springs at the bend ?

I can only tell you my experience. I have cleaned thousands of V-springs in my machine and never had an issue.

What size basket is necessary for an ultrasonic cleaner?

They are usually built to fit the unit. I have to buy a replacement for my L&R when I got it. It has large holes, maybe 1/4". I bought a stainless basket for loose tea leaves and use it on the small stuff.

Another option for small parts is to run them in a glass beaker or jar sitting in the basket. Someone could use a different solution or less of it than in the main tank, and even run tap water in the tank. I'd think if a leaf spring broke after running in an ultrasonic cleaner, it was either on its way or possibly the wrong solution was used. I think there was a fellow that commented not long ago about damaging a receiver finish with what turned out to be a solution intended for brass.

Sorry, I was referring to the size of the container so that it fit most actions and parts. I have one designed for Jewelry that my late wife purchased but I never used it. It is on the small side and will not accommodate a receiver.