I recently bought a pre-64 Model 94 on the EE. The gun was in good shape, but upon close inspection, someone had "tru-oiled" over the original finish without... taking off the wood. additionally, there were a few specks of rust and also someone had picked up the receiver at some point with some sort of acid on their hands which left three "blue-less" fingerprints up the side. Also , there was a notch out of the fore-end and a hole where a swivel had once been installed.
I wrestled with leaving it that way, but I have no intention of ever selling it, so the value proposition is a mute point with me. If it was just regular wear i would have left it alone, but it wasnt, so i did the touch up myself.
This is a relatively "low skill" / "high patience" project. I reblued the reciever using PJ's boiling blue solution (soon i will be upgrading to good ole oxynate) after spending a couple nights making the reciever look like a polished sharp-edged masterpeice. Then i stripped the walnut, repaired the notch and holes, and am currently in the process of applying 20-25 coats of 100% pure tung oil (Lee Valley).
The blue turned out identical to the factory finish on the barrel and lower tang. I left a few tiny wear marks for posterity. The wood is where i deviated. As these layers build, i am awestruck by what this oil does. Every flippin layer looks better than the one before- it almost gets a transluscent grain that shifts as you move your vantage point. I sealed the wood with an oil/mineral spirits mix, then once dry i went into sanding in the subsequent 8 coats , the first 3 being with 400 grit, then the next with 600 grit. As i build the layers, on the last few i will flip to polymerized tung oil for a shinier finish.
At the third sanding coat, it matched the factory look-- so i am taking it well beyond that.
I know there are some here that will cringe at the thought, but this little gun is a keeper.
