Steel barrel question

[Patrick Hanna]

Casey, Your second photo definitely shows tell-tale drips and runs from something liquid. That is very odd, indeed. I could only make some guesses and I doubt they'll be very helpful. It definitely looks to me like something applied over an incompatible lower layer. For example, a finish coat of some sort applied over metal that was NOT de-greased, and thus the top layer beaded up and dried as you see it now. Maybe a bluing chemical applied over an oily surface? Or something that beaded up on the oiled surface and then sat long enough to react with the metal? Does it look like a surface finish? Or more like something etched into your barrel finish? Probably a fairly easy fix if it's not damage to the bluing. I just cleaned a terribly sloppy shellac coat off a set of barrels, but that was obviously an applied surface finish. I hope someone with real expertise can identify this and help you with it.