What's the proper amt of shine on old shotgun receiver?

[ilikegunspdx]

I have a 1955 Sauer sxs that I want to clean up. Should receiver end up shiny like shown at the red arrow on first pic or flat like 2nd pic?

Pretty much totally new to these guns and just trying to figure out how much to clean/polish. This gun is far from one to totally restore, it's just a shooter but I want to clean up and make look as nice as I can without a lot of expense (elbow grease is ok and kinda fun). In doing so I don't want to stray from original type of appearance (such as making it shiny if it isn't supposed to be originally or what is commonly seen for this age gun). Thx for any thoughts, opinions, or ideas!

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[Andy54Hawken]

If it was my gun , I wouldn't "clean" or polish the receiver or any of the metal for that matter.
I'd just wipe the metal parts down with a bit of CLP on rag and call it good.

Age patina and or usage wear on a older firearm makes for a good look in my opinion.
I don't mind use marks or wear....abuse marks or neglect is another matter.
The shiny and "flat" areas appear to be from handing and carrying , at least to my eye.
Your receiver looks perfectly fine as is to me.
Andy

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

Not really the question though Andy, was it?

IMO, that receiver shows dirt as well as patina, and whilst i also cannot answer the question, i would personally be wanting to at least clean off some of the dirt and i think i see a little oxidisation?
I would hazard a guess that the polished look you picture is a wear point, so no, that would not be the original finish - but it's likely a slightly cleaner looking version of the second picture is where it used to be.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Not really the question though Andy, was it?

IMO, that receiver shows dirt as well as patina, and whilst i also cannot answer the question, i would personally be wanting to at least clean off some of the dirt and i think i see a little oxidisation?
I would hazard a guess that the polished look you picture is a wear point, so no, that would not be the original finish - but it's likely a slightly cleaner looking version of the second picture is where it used to be.

Not sure what you mean....
He asked about the shine and flat spots as in what they should look like and what to do....I answered with my thoughts on them and what I would do .

To be more clear :
It looks like normal wear and age patina to me.
I would just wipe the metal down with a bit of CLP on a rag and not worry about it.
Andy

 

[Medic!]

For the times you must remove rust?


I use a product that removes all rust but will not remove blueing.
You can remove as much patina as you want. [Zoro is preferred]


It will also put a polish to white metal. The more you polish the more it shows.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

A lot of valuable old firearms have been significantly devalued by folks who wanted to "clean them up". That patina is $$$$. Don't take it off. Do clean up any dirt, hardened oil residue, etc. But try not to "polish" or do anything else to the finish that removes signs of age and honest wear and tear.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

For the times you must remove rust?


I use a product that removes all rust but will not remove blueing.
You can remove as much patina as you want. [Zoro is preferred]

It will also put a polish to white metal. The more you polish the more it shows.

Thx for heads up on that product. I watched several videos about removing rust on blued barrels using oil or hoppes and #0000 steel wool. Then I noticed they also have bronze, brass, and copper wool. On this gun the barrels seems to have maybe a cold blue product applied in a couple areas (guessing) but no noticeable rust (not that much blue left though ha ha).

 

[ilikegunspdx]

A lot of valuable old firearms have been significantly devalued by folks who wanted to "clean them up". That patina is $$$$. Don't take it off. Do clean up any dirt, hardened oil residue, etc. But try not to "polish" or do anything else to the finish that removes signs of age and honest wear and tear.

I hear you on devaluing it. I know for some old barn find cars people debate whether it's worth more by leaving the accumulated dust or by washing it (no kidding).

But for this particular shot gun it's seen so much use it falls into that "works great but real ugly" category and tbh I don't think it would ever have any value (unless someone did a restoration which I would guess would cost 2x the restored value of the gun). So for me it's more a question of originality. Kinda like if you bought an old muscle car and put on 20 inch wheels with spinning centers. Totally ruins the look for me. But any wheels that look period correct (or at least roughly so) look pretty good, even if they aren't the actual wheels that came on the car new. Now if you were looking to make a show car then that's different of course.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I just looked at the metal inside the forearm and it looks like it was originally case hardened. So all that is gone now (except places under the wood).

Maybe I'll try that copper wool with clp or oil on a small spot and see what that looks like. From what I'm hearing above, polishing receiver to shiny would be similar to the 20" wheels with spinners, so it looks like that would be a mistake.

 

[F2CMaDMaXX]

I would start off with a microfibre cloth instead, rub hard with the oil as it will give enough abrasion to remove dirt, as well a have the space in the cloth to remove the dirt from the surface instead of pushing it around the surface.

@Andy54Hawken , i was referring to the post's title being the question asked.

 

[ZigZagZeke]

I just looked at the metal inside the forearm and it looks like it was originally case hardened. So all that is gone now (except places under the wood).

Maybe I'll try that copper wool with clp or oil on a small spot and see what that looks like. From what I'm hearing above, polishing receiver to shiny would be similar to the 20" wheels with spinners, so it looks like that would be a mistake.

Nice looking isn't it? It's worth about $400. It was worth $800 until someone re-blued it.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Nice looking isn't it? It's worth about $400. It was worth $800 until someone re-blued it.

View attachment 770377

Makes sense. Thx!

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Well I ended up cleaning metal with alcohol then using 0000 steel wool with eezox and I like looks of it. I use alcohol and eezox on any gun that is new to me, whether brand new or used, so only difference was steel wool. Not much of a change from before but definitely less ugly. Cleaned wood with goo gone, used heat gun to remove some oil in the darkest places, and then applied boiled linseed oil and it looks much better than before. Still a low grade gun and always will be but now easier to look at ha ha. Besides I'm sure it will be smoother and more accurate now that it looks better. Thanks for the great advice all! Cheers!

 

[coop44]

I have found Flitz and (believe it or not) Mothers mag polish, both are not abrasive and remove rust nicely.