I think the point of this thread is being lost. It is not about cleaning a gun after shooting. It is about getting rid of those pesky dark grey spots found on old guns that have been left in the garage or closet for years and then sold.
When we buy these project guns, we may want to deal with cleaning up the action both inside and out. Cleaning with WD40 and cotton T shirts or steel wool is a start and is inexpensive to use. Once finished, the WD can be removed and an appropriate lubricant can be used before putting the gun in the safe. This way the WD is no longer there to dry up. My experience with WD has been with hinge pins on doors, not guns. It evaporates within a month leaving the hinge dry and the doors squeaky. The residue seems to somehow contribute to the squeekiness. It is not a long term solution for any type of lubrication but it will start a car with a wet ignition, clean a lot of things and apparently will start a balky lawnmower. I did not use WD on the gun I am trying to freshen up.
Back to the real point of this thread started by StormsG. Chuck's thoughts are intended for guns that have long lost their case color and there are a lot of nice guns out there that have none left. Some guns are just filthy with some oxidation that can be removed with many of the above suggestions and come out pretty nice. That is not what I am working on. The Husky has no case color except some on the hammers between the hammer and the action where it was impossible to reach or that would be gone too. Now this is a nice gun with some engraving which seems rare on this gun. I don't see this as a collector type gun except I cherish the oddity of its design. I bought this one because I had never seen factory engraving on this low end gun. BTW, it was imported by SARCO, Stirling, NJ.
Unfortunately, you cannot see the engraving if you do not clean up the dirt and rust. I have gotten rid of most of the dark grey spots but there are still lighter smaller ones all over the action. This is what I want to remove if I can without ruining the metalwork completely. Steel wool and oil does no further good.
I have even tried fine sandpaper and oil with no luck. Even a chemical might not work but it is worth a try. Has anyone had success with this short of sanding or filing down the metal substantially? I am willing to have fairly shiny metal uncoated and let a patina form from that point. Any suggestions?
