As Bruce says, the choice is yours and as is exemplified by his gun, there is nothing wrong with a good clean up. I don't think your barrels need refinishing and as Eric said, some Hoppe's and 0000 steel wool will take off the crud and the pattern will show much, much better. There is a product much like coarse steel wool but of a softer alloy than steel that is guaranteed to take off rust but will not harm blueing. I'll get back to you with the name of the stuff... I have it somewhere in my basement. I've used it on lead fouling in my bores and it is terrific!

Thank you Bruce,that's one good looking Parker gun,do all barrels of this grade have the same type etching pattern.

Thanks Dean,the end result pictures on Bruce's Parker are stunning!Amazing result on those barrels and stock.If I get close to those results I'll be very happy.

Response: This is the base grade damascus steel and within a range of variations, some bigger, some smaller patterns, yes, they will all look the same. These are very typical G grade barrels. See the Teaser from Dale thread for more Damascus. Some of us believe Parker Damascus barrels are more attractive and are as capable as fluid steel of equal condition.

To be precise, the pattern is caused by alternating twisted and stacked ribbons of malleable iron and steel, hand forged together. The different Fe compositions oxidize at different rates and create the color, assisted by a bath of logwood dye. Damascus barrels vary, a few have names assembled into the Damascus pattern. Others like Bernards were the designer barrels of their day and very costly.

Here's the product I mentioned earlier. BIG 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner, Rust and Dirt Remover. When used with a solvent like Hoppe's or CorrosionX For Guns from Corrosion Technologies Corp. you probably will not need to send your barrels out to be refinished. Certainly this advice doesn't apply to everybody's barrels but from what I can see of yours, they are not faded but are only covered with old dried oil and grime. At least try cleaning them before sending them to be refinished.




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Dean where did you pick that stuff up at?

I want to say THANK YOU to you guys, to freely receive such info and advise sure is reassuring.:)I added a picture of the front of the barrel of this gun to the Grubb gun album.To my untrained eye it appears to be uncut and original.Correct?For insurance purposes I would appreciate a approx. value of this gun.For now I'm "gone fishing!!" and will log back in later.best regards, Stephen

It looks just like the day it left Meriden - uncut with keels in place.

The solvent, CorrosionX is available in several sizes from gallons right down to the plastic 4 oz. bottles I bought, from www.corrosionx.com or call 800-638-7361.

The BIG 45 Metal Cleaner alloy scrubbing pads are available from www.big45metalcleaner.com or by calling the tel. no. on their website.

You guys are really fantastic. :) Thanks for your time and advise! My next post should have pictures of a cleaned up Grubb Gun.And I'll remember to go slooww! Much Thanks To All, Stephen:bigbye: