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For stock clean up, use Murphy's Oil Soap if there is LOTS of grime and old flaking varnish. Scrub using a washcloth over and over until the cloth no longer picks up the black stuff. Use a toothbrush to scrub out the checkering. Murphy's Oil Soap will remove varnish, so use with caution. Mylands Friction Polish (also available from The Wooden Post) can then be used to restore the finish.
If you want to clean, but not remove any of the old finish, use Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen & Conditioner or Formby's Buildup Remover. Apply with a washcloth until the washcloth no longer picks up the gunk. Then use Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment or Old English Lemon Oil to put some life back in the wood. Dr. Drew uses Old English Lemon Oil about every 6 months in the desert because of the low humidity. Let the Old English Lemon Oil dry for a day and then use Johnson's Paste Wax, Trewax or Renaissance Wax also available from Woodcraft or PicreatorEnterprises Ltd. Howard Feed-N-Wax can be applied regularly to protect the wood and finish also. It's amazing the color and contrast that will come out after a serious cleaning!
If the barrels have not been cold blued, you can safely remove most of the corrosion on the barrels using WD-40 and OOOO steel or bronze wool or off the receiver (where the case colors are already worn off) using a copper penny or a 3M Scotch Brite pad with Kroil (also available from Kano Laboratories)
or Kleen Bore's Formula 3 Gun Conditioner — it's sold for about $3 in 2 oz. bottles. Flitz will also clean up the metal but WILL remove case colors. Dr. Drew has used Mothers' Billet Metal Polish to remove rust and was surprised that the blue remained.
Navel Jelly will remove rust AND BLUEING, as will Evapo-Rust and Certanium Ox-Away.
Dr. Bill is a big fan of Ballistol. It was designed for the German Imperial Army in 1905 and it is safe for wood, metal and leather. It is NOT petroleum based, rather mineral/soy bean oil based and therefore will not soften checkering. It's great for spraying down warm bores after shooting. By the time one gets to cleaning the barrels, the copper/lead and even plastic are loosened. For severe plastic fouling, use Ballistol with a bronze brush wrapped in 4-0 steelwool and attached to an eletric drill. A 16 oz. can retails for around $8.00.
Great care must be taken cleaning case colors. Dr. Drew uses Flitz Gun Wax that both cleans (and brightens) and protects.
Case color (CC) protection is really a conundrum however. Dr. Oscar Gaddy did extensive research and concluded that UV light rays did NOTHING to CC. On the other side of the coin, Ken Hurst remembers that Colt re-CCed all their showroom guns yearly as they felt the colors faded. Certain oils and chemicals do indeed degrade CC, and it seems that acid or the alkaline is the worst. Just before his death, Oscar had switched to using Behlen's to protect his CC. Others recommend thinned TruOil. It's certainly reasonable to protect the colors and metal with Johnson's Paste Wax or Renaissance Wax. Johnson's seems to work especially well around salt water.
To clean corrosion from the engraving, get some solid copper wire, like that used for household wiring (Romex) of 14~18 gauge. Strip the insulation off of one strand or just use the ground wire, cut it at a long angle with a pair of diagonal cutters. Use the fresh cut end as your 'pick' or tool along with some Kleen Bore Formula 3 or Ballistol to remove the rust. If it gets worn too smooth or rounded, just nip a small increment from its end to 'resharpen'. The Formula 3 will penetrate wonderfully and loosen the rust as well as prevent future rusting, and the copper 'tool' will not scratch a thing nor harm the engraving. It will be tedious work, but you should only need do it once. Do not be afraid to bear down or be aggressive with the wire's end, you cannot hurt anything, metal wise. You could put a gouge in the wood though if you slip, so pay attention. Use a piece of wire long enough to be comfortable held in your hand and bend the last 1/2 " 90 degrees or down for the working end if it makes it easier for you to use it that way. Dr. Bill likes to use a brass toothbrush with Ballistol.
For the best thing to re-oil or wipe down engraved surfaces, get a piece of real lamb's wool leather that has been clipped close. There is simply nothing more effective to insure you get a coat of oil on and into the engraving. A small piece will last you a lifetime.
To clean up and rejuvinate that classic leather Leg-O-Mutton case:
Pecard Classic Leather Dressing
Leatherique
Connolly Hide Care Cream
Motorcars Ltd.
Leathercare Direct
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