Anyone else tried this?

[Chuck Bishop]

I just acquired a VH 12ga and the metal was dark and had a mottled appearance along with some dried oil and powder stains.

I cleaned the metal with alcohol to remove any oil and took a gum rubber eraser and started to scrub the metal. I was amazed at how it cleaned. It removed much of the discoloration and left the metal that nice gunmetal gray. I'm not sure what it would do to case colors but in my case, they weren't there to begin with.

[David Noble]

I suppose I would need to see before and after pics to decide if it was a good idea or not. I wouldn't do any kind of cleaning that would remove even the slightest amount of original case color though. Erasers are abrasive and will leave minute scratches in the metal. I understand your point on the gunmetal grey finish. It is atractive in a lot of cases, but original patina will trump a cleaned up or polished appearance for most collectors.

Please post pics if you can, maybe I'll think it was a great idea!