I would go with the plastic-bristled cleaning brush (similar to a double-ended toothbrush one gets in the pack of steel-, brass- and plastic-bristled brushes for like $3.99 at your favorite big box outdoors store. Mechanically remove the crud from the nooks and crannies and in the chekering. That would go for the metal - extractor areas collect crud as does the inside of the floorplate where the hooks go, so pay a lot of attention there. Dampen a large patch with oil or nitro solvent, then wrap around the end of your brush and work it down in there.
Just a good, detailed cleaning like your drill sergeant would have wanted.
As to a formal disassembly and cleaning the innards that's up to you. I'm always afraid of buggering a screw so I'll take the gun to a professional and pay him to open it up and clean and lube the insides.
When it comes to wax, any of the commercial products are good. For each of them, some will swear by them and others swear at them. Follow the instructions on the bottle. Several thin coats, each allowed to dry and buffed out, are far better than one thick coat slathered on.
A good project for a rainy or otherwise boring evening.
The Blueing on the barrel is rough at best, There is a area about half way up the barrel and about 4 inches long where the previous owner scubed off some rust and now the metal shows. Trying to figure out if I should leave it alone, strip off all of the old blueing and redo or strip off the old bluing and leave it just the metal. What do you think?
