Tom: I have one very similar with 28 inch barrels, a 1900 gun on a 2 frame. It is not pretty in the classic sense, but like yours it is untouched and immaculate on the inside, bores included. I keep it as my "benchmark" Parker, to quote Ed M. If I'm ever in doubt as to whether a screw has been turned or a plate disassembled or a set of chambers or forcing cones reamed, or barrels buffed or polished, I compare it to this one. Why mess with a sure thing?

Limapapa - I agree :)

Though I did take a little flitz to her this afternoon - it removed some of the speckling on the first pass. Still heavy patina but just a little cleaner.

Nice shiny totally untouched Parker receivers got that way over a period of years from honest use and meticulous care after shooting. Brown patina untouched Parker receivers got that way over a period of years from honest use and somewhat less meticulous care after shooting. Once they get brown, I leave them that way because most attempts to make them look shiny or white end up in a non original look. I have a brown and beautiful twenty gauge 1917 VH that is the most wonderful looking Parker, a Parker that would be ruined by any attempt to improve it. By the way, the pictured gun looks a bit like my 20. Bruce's assessment of how they get that way agrees with my opinion of how they get that way. I choose to leave them as is and hunt off the brown.

A little update - I took a bit of flitz to the receiver last night and this morning. I found it not nearly as "dangerous" as I anticipated. That's not to say I would ever use it without extreme caution. The major freckling came out with a couple light passes - it definitely brightened up the receiver with most of the brownish patina remaining. I even found some very faint case coloring hiding in a few protected areas.

Sun was shining today - so it appears brighter than it actually is. That's the only cleaning I plan on doing - she shall remain as is currently.

http://www.waterdogguideservice.com/.../parker124.jpg

http://www.waterdogguideservice.com/.../parker125.jpg

VERY briefly, the "Ethics of Patina" are: "I have no idea what happened to it; it was like that when I got it."

You would not harm that gun at all if the wood were cleaned with a little refinish, esp. the forend, and the checkering recut.