doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Care and cleaning of case colors

What chemicals and cleaners should be used or avoided when caring for case colors? I make the mistake of using full strength Simple Green if softened the case colors on a gun. I've used brake cleaner to remove heavy gummed up oil/grease with no issues. If I have a tight locked up gun that won't budge I'll soak it in 50/50 ATF and acetone. Will that be a problem for case colors?

I'll be interested in the replies to your question, SB. I have read and reread Oscar Gaddy's treatise on case colors many times and I am always left wondering if, and how, any chemical could change the crystalline/prismatic surface which creates the colors and patterns. Of course, RUBBING with any product could do this because any abrasive action alters the prismatic structure. In the same vein, I have always wondered how direct sunlight could fade case colors, as some claim.

Thanks for asking, maybe I'll learn something from it, too.

SRH

I've read that the colored surface is an oxidation reaction. When I hear oxidation I think rust. So that leads me to believe any form of rust remover would chemically remove the colors. I've read toilet bowl cleaner used to remove case colors to get a French Gray finish on guns requiring the case hardening.

Anything acidic will eventually remove the colors, but not the hardness.

Anything that would remove the lacquer/shellac coating normally placed on the case color to protect it would lead to an immediate change in its appearance and through time to expose it to various things to possibly fade it.

I'm not sure anything was applied to the case-hardened area of (vintage) American made doubles at their manufacture. I've never read or heard anything addressing that. However, it is nothing short of amazing how well the colors hold up in the most protected areas. This is the forearm of my Philadelphia made 20 ga. Fox Sterlingworth. These colors are absolutely 100% original. I have refinished the wood. I don't have a picture of the action for a comparison but suffice it to say that there is less than 10% case color remaining on it. Each time I remove the forend I try to imagine what the action looked like when it left Philly with such vibrant colors on it.

Yes, "amazing how well the colors hold up in the most protected areas". I have a 100 year old German single shot with all its colors just as vivid owing to its original coat of lacquer or whatever that is still in place. I suppose a well tended coat of something like Renaissance Wax could preserve any colors left on our guns that weren't protected that way.

Parker Reproductions have notoriously fading case colors.
I put a very lite coat of True Oil on the C C parts.
Works great to protect.
Bob Jurewicz

After complete disassembly I've sprayed Mohawk Clear Satin spray Lacquer to protect case colors.

I believe that some American double gun makers applied some kind of protecting finish over the colors in their guns.