I think you're spot on in agreement with my desires, Stan. I'm going to give the gel a try. I don't think the colors will be too vibrant. I want it to look like it's been there a long time - an uneven mottle of greys with maybe a touch of color left in it. If I can't get that, I can always scrub it off and rust blue a couple iterations to get a nice grey that looks faded over the decades.
Next thing to think about is the toplever. It had a hook on it. I've seen some Ithaca lewis' without a hook. Do I put one back on? I was thinking of making one with threads at the base, say 8-32, to screw into the toplever, fit the end of the hook to the eyelet in the top rib, then harden the hook and braze it on. By the jagged edges and rough center, it looks like someone tried to weld one back on and it failed. Suppose I could try that method too. Getting it to stay in the right place while I get the stick on it would be tough unless I drill a hole in the lever to hold it.
20240704_193436.jpg20240704_193448.jpg
The only thing I would have to go off of is alcaviglia's picture inventory of a 1901 lewis, here
https://parkerguns.org/forums/album....pictureid=5739
EDIT: a bit more research. 3rd variant crass is very similar frame...no hook on the toplever, same barrel extension recess cut in the frame. Pictures here
https://www.shotgunworld.com/threads...ection.432835/
I'm not sure if I need to mess with it.