cleaning up an old parker,
 

I have a wall hanger.
I want to clean it up. I want to get the gunk out of the internals behind the triggers etc. Has anyone used brake or carb cleaner to do this? I would also like to clean up and polish the metal. I was reading a 3M scotch bright pad will do? Is that prefered over lets say 000 Steel Wool and some oil? The wood is beyond salvageable. However to remove general grime and get some grain to show Murphys Oil Soap?

Any feedback or help would be appreciated Thanks

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/000_0159.jpg

http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/000_0157.jpg

Take a deep breath and slow down. Until you know what you have, almost all methods to clean what we thought were wall hangers are wrong, and irreversable. If you want to stop the rust, 0000 steel wool liberally soaked with WD-40, rubbed lightly, will do that on the barrels fine. Don't go at the action with an pressure at all; there may be remnants of colors hiding. Post some pictures of the barrel stamping, bottom of the rear barrel lug, and water tables so you'll get the experts to tell you what you have.
The true 'wall hanger' category is pretty filled up with lesser quality pieces, so don't be too rushed to commit a potentially good Parker to that 'final resting place.'

Fair enough, I'm no Ansel Adams so bear with me.
Here is the receiver stamps
2
56913
G
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4669.jpg

The Barrel is marked with the same serial number 56913 and
c 11
D 4 PATD APR 11 1876
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4665.jpg
The forend same serial number 56913
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4672.jpg
zoomed
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4676.jpg

Barrel dents
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4667.jpg
some other pics
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4670.jpg
http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/f...k/100_4671.jpg

Oh it's a Damascus Barrel

You have what appears to be a GH (grade 2) from about 1889. It has no appreciable collectors market, especially in the shape its in. In other words, you have nowhere to go but up, IMHO. Disassembly may be difficult with the rust. I would not hestitate to clean it up on the outside a little, with Murphy's oils soap on the wood and some careful rust removal as previously described. You could even strip the wood with alcohol and a scrubbie, which would bring out the original grain most clearly, but would need some French Polish applied to seal it and make it look a little like it did when new. Go slow, and take off less rather than more. You have a wall hanger, and should keep it that way. Restoration to shooting status is probably cost prohibitive.

Mike P.

Yep, just want to clean it to hang above the bar. Conversation peice at this point. I have no delusions that this will become a shooter again.

just a pretty looking peice of history.

The wall hanger at my cabin on the Au Sable is an old Remmie hammer gun. Wrist is cracked and "repaired" with a tacked on piece of aluminum on the right side. Gun doesn't look too bad so long as you keep the right side to the fireplace

Sir:
Depending upon barrel condition, this GH is certainly restorable. If barrels are not deeply pitted and abused with dents, bulges or loose ribs, there is no reason why this gun cannot be cleaned up, restocked and used... with appropriate loads.

All this depending upon a careful evaluation of course.

The work will cost abit. But even the parts are worth something. i hate to see this Parker collect dust and grime when it could be a working gun.

Best, Kensal

I don't have the money though :)

If I got a decent offer on it I'd pass it on. I'm not attached to the gun or anything. If it were my family gun or something than yes over time would invest in a restoration. For now, it'll be "Hey look at that"

Perimedik:
Again, if the barrels are salvagable, please let me know what you consider a decent offer at my personal email: dgclassics2@yahoo.com

And thank you for the trouble!

Best, Kensal

I have to agree with Kensal! My GH from 1889 was almost as bad. I had my friendly gunsmith raise some dents, I cleaned the interior and repaired the stock. It is NOT a showpiece but can be used in the field or range with the appropriate loads. Look at #36 #37, and #38 on the FAQ on this site. You could have a good field gun with some work without a great deal of cost. When you hit the lottery you can have it restored to like new
Good Luck!!
Carl

Just my 2 cents, but for a wallhanger, I wouldn't clean it. A clean wallhanger would be like polishing the headlight buckets on an old car settling into the back forty field.

pm sent

Guys always talk about 000 steel wool for taking off rust on a gun. Even with plenty of lubrication there's a chance of scratching something or going too far. Why not just use bronze wool instead? It costs a bit more but there's no risk of damaging steel with it as it's much softer than the metal but much harder than any rust.

DLH

THAT gun has obviously had one hell of an interesting life!

Maybe 000, though I can't recall scratching anything with it, but 0000 is about all I use. In fact I use it when cold rusting to clean the surface After application, with WD40.