Clean off tarnish and gray

[Potashminer]

I have a Brazil 1908 receiver and bolt - were originally issued "in the white" - now showing dull tarnish, black spots, etc. - not interesting in preserving the "patina" - I would like to clean off that tarnish - would appreciate suggests how to do that - I thought some sort of bath - scrub with tooth brush?? With all the nooks and crannies in the receiver, the bolt and the shroud, not sure all can be buffed, so looking for suggestions?

 

[b72471]

Lightly done with a wire wheel on bench grinder and then dremmel small wheel for tight spots
Followed by polishing wheels and cutting polish.

 

[Potashminer]

And the crest and various stampings will survive that abrasive action?

 

[flyr]

I have used a larger rotary tumbler and walnut shell/with polishing compound.(RCBS Sidewinder)
All parts done individually in tumbler.
Results were good to fair, with no damage.
Staining is very hard to remove without metal loss.(grinding etc.)

 

[tiriaq]

One technique is to use a very fine wire wheel. Break the wheel in by brushing something unimportant. Don't use a brand new wheel.
Then gently use the side edge of the wheel with a swiping action. Should burnish the surface without abrading it.

 

[guntech]

I use a very soft stainless wheel at about 600 rpm. It doesn't take away steel.

 

[Ashcroft]

My go to for metal cleaning on a gun without damaging the blueing, obliterating markings and stampings or softening crisp edges is FLITZ metal polish, applied carefully with an old tooth brush.

 

[freire]

I second the FLITZ with the tooth brush

 

[Potashminer]

Dug through my "good stuff" drawer - no soft brushes for rotary tools, but found Turtle Wax brand "Polishing Compound" and a tub of Mothers Polish - "Perfect for all Metals". Will try those first - if not to my liking, then will source some soft rotary brushes - thanks for the suggestions!!!

 

[Levon12345]

To prevent damage, a carding wheel is what you're after, but they're an expensive niche tool. Degreasing, boiling your parts for an hour to stop the rusting process and scrubbing with the finest abrasives (0000 steel wool, etc) your patience can handle are the best ways to do it. However, you'll have to work incredibly hard to get rid of the spots left over after boiling your parts. Unless you want to cook up a concoction that strips rust blue. Everything more aggressive than that will risk damage to the markings or remove any of the remaining finish but the trade off is your time.

I just finished doing this "conservation" work on a few of my hundred year old firearms and they came out great. I learned to do this from a YouTube channel called Anvil. Good luck! I hope you find the solution that works out for you.

 

[HuskyDude]

Start light.
My go to is some G6 on a cloth.
(Careful...it will remove bluing if you rub too hard)

Found @ Lordco

Then 0000 steel wool + G6. If that won't fix it.

Then a more drastic measure are needed.

 

[kamlooky]

Princess Auto has on occassion them metal pawlish'in grinder thingeezs with cloth wheels.
Mite be ahh tad s'pensiff, butt wunce yer in................yer in..