Inherited some antiques - need help

[wang949]

So oil, but no steel wool to remove rust?

[El Gato]

Thanks for the information everyone.
Does restoration work, such as re-bluing the scratches ruin the value of the gun?

Yes...or...No on the restore...shotgun specific really....
see this month's Rifle magazine for a good article on it.. unless the gun has some historical significance... was owned by a pirate or something...it MAY be a good candidate for PROFESSIONAL restoration... not in your kitchen mind you... and it will be freakin' expensive...

see:

http://www.turnbullmfg.com/store.asp?pid=20022&catid=19872

he is one of the very few in the country that will restore it to actual factory config...

and the LC Smith may or may not be worth doing that...

didn't notice if it was damascus barrels but if they are, you need to be very very careful about ever firing it.. it CAN be safe to fire ... or not...

nice guns...
sorry for the fact that you had to inherit.. which of course means someone is gone.. but glad they went to someone who could appreciate it..

[Sydwaiz]

Most people cringe at the thought of steel wool. I'm not one of those people but then again, I only use 000 or 0000 steel wool and ever so lightly. Just enough to take some of the roughness off the surface and then oil to prevent further rust.

[Bigyates]

So oil, but no steel wool to remove rust?

No abrasives. On the LC, heavily oil the barrels inside and out and let it set awhile off the action. Damacus barrels are a thing of beauty.

[Heatseeker]

You can use a copper penny(an old one, not one of the new fake ones) and some ATF to scrape off some of the nasty rust without scratching the surface.