Crud vs. Patina: Cleaning up a 1950 .44 Military

[Murdock]

One man's crud maybe another man's patina.

Purchased a .44 HE 4th Model Military (pre-21) with 6.5-inch barrel at auction several years ago. The gun was presented for sale as a Model 1926, and it wasn't until I got home and checked my SCSW that I realized what I had and that I had benefited from the incorrect identification. The longer barrel may only be one of about 120 produced. (I have read that about 10% of the total run of 1200 were 6.5-inch). Grips are correct for the period, but look just a bit too good for the wear on the metal, and are numbered to a slightly later gun.

The gun is probably deserving of a letter, so I guess I'll get around to that at some point. I took photos a while back, but they are stuck on my old PC which is not working at present.

Shoots well, mechanically excellent but somewhat challenged cosmetically. Under strong light many small scratches are evident due to use/handling, and the barrel is about as much brown as blue. There is evidence that light surface corrosion on the frame was addressed with too coarse a grade of steel wool, and likely no oil in the process.

As this is considered a rather scarce variant, I have been reluctant to do anything with the finish other than 0000 steel wool and gun oil, despite the cosmetic issues. I have researched using Flitz or Simichrome to brighten up/clean the gun a bit more, but I am concerned that getting rid of the underlying brown patina would be a mistake.

So it's a good shooter and doesn't have to be babied. I'm going to stay away from messing with the finish, as this may be one of those guns that benefits from showing its character. A refinish or restoration is not going to happen.

Is there some other approach to improving this gun's appearance without harming its value?

 

[rgm36]

DO NOT use steel wool - not even 0000 because it will still remove the bluing - especially old, already thin bluing.

DO NOT use any kind of cream cleaner - most have an abrasive in it which will remove the bluing. Any cleaner that also "polishes" has an abrasive.

I would limit myself to rubbing the gun down with oil and see how it cleans up. A petroleum based oil will remove most gunk and surface rust the gun may have.

INO

 

[JSR III]

Using steel wool is never a good idea because small pieces of the metal can be left behind and eventually these particles will turn to rust. I think if you do clean the gun, do it gently and then apply a coat of Renaissance wax. Just like you wax your car to shine it and prevent rust, you can do the same to your metal guns.

 

[rct269]

The very best way to clean a gun WITHOUT damaging it is with BRONZE wool and oil-------any kind of oil---whatever you have laying around. That's what you should do.

What you should not do is go anywhere near it with STEEL wool. Steel wool will remove rust. The blue finish on your gun is rust. It's clearly not regular rust---it's fancy rust. It even has its own name: Black Oxide. If you use steel wool it will remove rust.

What can you expect from bronze wool? You can expect to remove any and anything from the surface of the metal. As an aside, the blue finish you see when you look at your gun is NOT a surface coating. It's THE surface. Bronze wool (and oil) removes surface rust (of the red variety). It will, to some degree, blend spotty bluing----also blend bluing and patina.

Bottom Line: Your gun will look better after the use of bronze wool and oil. Your gun will look worse after the use of steel wool and oil. Bronze wool will also do wonders for your attitude. What started out as what you thought was a REALLY scruffy gun ends up looking not so bad after all. It will make you want to get out another scruffy gun and keep on keeping on.

Ralph Tremaine

As an aside, I once bought a fairly rare, fairly expensive gun. It had been stored on newsprint. The otherwise nice shiny blue surface was marred by a 3/8" to 1/2" spot of schmuta and gradu which appeared to be a mixture of plain old rust and the sort of crud you find on neglected automotive batteries. Out comes the bronze wool and some Hoppes gun oil that was so old I was certain it good for nothing else. A very short time later the spot was gone. What was left were three tiny pin prick spots where the bluing was darker than the surrounding area. If you like, we can arrange for any of you to examine the gun for, let's say an hour. If you find the spots, I'll give you $1,000. If you don't, you give me $100. Sound like a plan?? (And if you've been paying attention, and know how to think, you already know where to look.)

 

[Murdock]

Bronze wool and oil it is, followed by wax.

Will try to post pics after doing the above.

 

[S42N8]

Some of our Kroil users would recommend a pre-soak in Kroil to loosen up the crud; have never tried that, but makes sense. Bronze wool & oil is the right choice for surface rust removal. Work gently and carefully. Ren wax (or any light paste wax) is very good to preserve the surface.

 

[Alk8944]

Using steel wool is never a good idea because small pieces of the metal can be left behind and eventually these particles will turn to rust.

You mean to say that small particles if stee from the steel wool, which is relatively soft, will imbed themselves into the relatively harder steel of the frame? First, this is absolute bunk and an internet forum myth! Second, doesn't it really sound silly now???????????

While OOOO steel wool may well cause microscopic scratches in the finish you would need to work for hours before it would "remove the bluing"! Bluing of all forms (except "cold" blue) is nothing more nor less than that Iron Oxide, in simple terms rust! Iron oxide is harder that Iron and commonly used for polishing metals. Have you ever heard of "Jeweler's Rouge" or "Crocus Cloth"? Guess what the abrasive is, yup, IRON OXIDE! When scouring off scaly rust from a finished surface it is the Iron Oxide that is loosened and picked up by the steel wool that does the damage, not the steel wool! Even the highly recommended "soft cloth and oil" will cause damage when microscopic particles of Iron Oxide are picked up by the cloth!

 

[Plain Old Dave]

Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner

I have used this stuff for years and it works as advertised.

 

[gmborkovic]

Crud is a good sign. When I see a fresh gun on the market, I look for crud.
I like crud down in the screw slots and along the side plate. Especially around the grip screws. Just looks right. Indication of some honest age and no body has over cleaned it. Still look for nice finish and bright stuff inside. Best.