Serious clean up project

[StubTwist]

Dave,

Great news about the overall condition and the no pitting on the barrels. This D grade you have should clean up real nicely. If you say the barrels only have exterior surface rust, here's a suggestion you can try before sending them out to get refinished. You may just like how they look and may not need it. I recently cleaned up a set of barrels to a LC Syracuse grade E hammer gun in similar condition.

Surface rust - I moistened the exterior of the barrels with Kano Kroil oil on a patch and wiped down the barrels length wise with 0000 steel wool. Take your time. You can use Hoppes as well. Wipe away the crud with cotton cleaning patches.

After cleaning the rust away, it has been mentioned here on this board on many occasions Formby's Tung oil does wonders for black and white Damascus barrels. It seems to help the iron and steel black and white contrast and it is a good preservative.

Before applying Formby's the barrels have to be real clean. Prep the surface with denatured alcohol. This dries quickly. There is a suggestion that you can put a broom handle in the breech secured tightly with a vise so the barrels are horizontal. Next, moisten a lint free cloth with Formby's. One patch goes a long way. Simply start from breech to muzzle in long even strokes. I don't have a vise so I just put gloves on and stuck my finger in the muzzle to be able to turn the barrels as I am applying.

Allow to dry. Place barrel in an area lint free. Overnight you should be able to handle the barrels. Allow 4 to 5 days to fully cure. One application should do it. If you do more coats the barrels have a plastic look to them. This is also a reason why I choose the low gloss than high gloss.

You can buy Formby's Tung oil at any hardware store.

Again, congratulations on your new acquisition!