Removing gold finish from receiver

[Tim Adams]

Hello, Gentlemen.
I purchased a DHE yesterday. It is really a pretty nice shotgun, but at some time in the past the receiver was electroplated (?) with a gold color. There is not much of it left, only in the protected areas of the receiver and forend latch, and on the water table. I have no idea what it is, but I would like to remove what is left without harming the engraving. Any ideas on the best way to go about it?
There is no case coloring left to speak of. I assume it was removed when it was plated.
I have attached a couple of pictures to help with the visual.
The wood is nice enough I suspect it has been refinished. The barrels ring nice, the bores look perfect, the lever is right of center and lockup is nice and tight.
All in all, I am pretty happy with it, but the gold sure is ugly.
All opinions are appreciated.
Parker DHE.jpg

Parker DHE 2.jpg

[Woodcock survey]

Try finger nail polish remover or acetone. Do not get it on the wood finish. I have seen guns that people have used gold leaf paint on and that reminds me of it. Take care not to get it on the wood.

[Woodcock survey]

duplicate

[Mark Britton]

It is so faded from use I would leave it alone and rub the rest of it off with use. Nice gun !

[GH-16]

It's hard to tell in the pictures but I doubt it was actually plated being as there isn't any of the gold color in the deep recess areas of the engraving. The acetone test with a Q-tip would be a good starting point for seeing if this is some type of a paint or lacquer. Does the forearm iron or latch plate have any of this gold color? If not, I'd suspect something other than plating.

This might also be some light oxidation which may come off with some oil and gentle rubbing with a soft cloth or something like a new frontier pad. The main thing is to go slow and easy in an out of the way spot & see what might work.

[Opening Day]

Originally Posted by Paul Ehlers

It's hard to tell in the pictures but I doubt it was actually plated being as there isn't any of the gold color in the deep recess areas of the engraving. The acetone test with a Q-tip would be a good starting point for seeing if this is some type of a paint or lacquer. Does the forearm iron or latch plate have any of this gold color? If not, I'd suspect something other than plating.

This might also be some light oxidation which may come off with some oil and gentle rubbing with a soft cloth or something like a new frontier pad. The main thing is to go slow and easy in an out of the way spot & see what might work.

My guess is it is old lacquer that was used to protect the metal and acetone should take it off, I would remove the stock before using the acetone.

[Tim Adams]

Thanks to all for the input.
The forearm iron has the plating in the finger recess, the rest of it is worn off.
It is difficult to show in pictures, but it isn't oxidation.
I will try acetone today and report back.

[Bruce Hering]

Can't say more than has been suggested. But, I would also stress, do remove the wood before using the acetone....

Good looking gun. Enjoy

[Aaron Beck]

If its not gold paint, ive seen something like that effect from wire brushing with a brass brush.

[Larry the Gun Guy]

Gold washing was a process done to guns; rifles, pistols and shotguns, at the turn of the century to enhance their beauty and show financial status of the owner. A friend had an engraved Fox that had been gold washed and he took it out in the garage and used a buffing wheel to remove as much as he could. Unfortunately, he also smoothed the engraving somewhat. I would not suggest doing that -EVER. Here is a better description of what it is.

Gold Washed
gold washed | ˈgōld ˈwȯshd

adjective

A term for a piece that has an extremely thin layer of gold, applied by either dipping or burnishing the metal, but are not plated.

Gold wash is a term used to describe one of several processes often related to antique and vintage silver. It consists of applying a very thin layer of gold without plating to another metal, most commonly silver. This is done by dipping or burnishing the metal, and is not as resilient to wear and handling as plating, filling, or electroplating. Other terms used to describe gold washing include silver gilt, gilt, gilded, and vermeil. The final application of gold after a gold wash is less than 0.175 microns thick and will typically wear off over time and need to be washed again to maintain its appearance.