CeraKoting a heirloom moral dilemma....

[orygun]

Well...

Now that you've started down that slippery slope, it does look purdy. In my opinion, if your stock is gonna shine, so should the bluing. I just don't think matte bluing, or another matte finish, is the way to go if you've got shiny wood.

Some case coloring would be pretty cool...

 

[jbett98]

I have had very good results with using Birchwood Casey True Oil.
If it's a vintage gun with honest wear, I remove the old finish with orange citrus paint remover, clean the remover with paint thinner, then lightly rub the cured True Oil with 4/0 steel wool between coats, and then finish it off with black or brown Kiwi shoe polish.
The shoe polish buffs off to a nice deep satin shine and leaves some darker color in the original scratches and dings, just like the original finish.