Sometimes it's appropriate to remove a hundred years of dirt and grime from the surface of an
old gun, let me show you how to do that. This is a Remington Rolling Block New York
State model from the 1870s, chambered in 50-70 Government. It's slightly different
from most other rolling blocks in that it has a locking action. A feature that
drops the hammer to the safety notch when the breech block is closed. The hammer must then
be pulled to full-cock before the rifle can be fired. Overall it's in nice original condition,
but you can see the wood and metal are covered with a dark film of grime. Underneath that film is
the original finishes which I'm going to show you by removing most of the grime. The first step is
a careful disassembly the hammer and breech block are removed followed by the buttstock and forend.
The barrel was originally finished in the white, which is clearly visible once the
forend is removed. The old oil in the wood has oxidized through the years which has caused the
stocks to darken. Sanding would remove the crisp markings that are still quite visible
and would reduce the guns collector value. One respectful method of cleaning the wood
is to use a clean soft rag soaked in lacquer thinner. The lacquer thinner softens the grime
and by keeping the surface wet and turning the rag often almost all of it comes right
off. This technique will only work on an oil finish stock back on most military guns.
Any stubborn spots can be scrubbed with a small bristle brush. The brush is
also helpful for getting the grime out of the stamped markings and any dents and scratches.
Once the wood is clean I'll set the stocks aside and work on the metal parts. I've left
the springs in the forend to prevent any damage to the wood that might occur from removing them. As
you can see the metal is covered with the yellow varnish-like coating, I don't want to scratch
the metal in any way so Hoppe's #9 and 04 steel wool will work perfectly. The Hoppe''s loosens
the yellow coating and the steel wool removes it easily without damaging the original finish of the
metal. Each part is thoroughly cleaned, it takes a bit of time as I'm going slow and being careful.
I'm not polishing the barrel bright as that would be a sure sign of refinishing.
Quite a difference
A light coat of oil on all the metal parts will protect them from rusting.
Now that the stocks are completely dry I can apply
a coat of boiled linseed oil and hang the wood to dry for about 15 minutes.
This will really bring the wood back to life. If a darker color is desired oil-based walnut stain can
be added to the linseed oil, although the stocks will darken naturally over the next few days.
Excess oil on the surface of the wood is wiped off, the oil-soaked rags are disposed of properly,
as they can spontaneously combust and start a fire. Now I can put everything
back together. What a beautiful old gun and in this case enhanced by cleaning,
sometimes it is appropriate to properly clean an old gun.