Old Parker - Need Guidance
Wipe the gun down gently with a soft cloth perhaps dampened with a little mineral spirits. It has nice sharp corners and may retain much more finish than you percieve. Clean the bore with ordinary Hoppes or equivalant, and if you see anything looking like brown rust wipe the spot gently with the damp cleaning patch.
A brown spot on the cleaning patch indicates either some soft rust , old oxidized oil, or old powder residue is on the spot rubbed.
Don't use any anti rust or rust removing oils or polishes. Bluing and the colors from the case hardening process are really just pretty forms of rust and anti rust treatments will remove them as well. Dab some RIG ( now again available) or other gun gease on a soft cloth or piece of fur, and rub down the metal parts. This will protect it from your hands when you examine it.
I have encountered several early lifter Parkers that appearred much like yours. I found that many dark spots that look like rust are really a scale or perhaps a fungus adhering to the surface that is quite soft. A weekly rub down with a Hoppes patch followed by a clean cloth rub down and a fresh application of grease removes these soft deposits without removing metal. I have also cleaned off these deposits with an ultra sonic cleaner, but this requires some dissassembly.
Be patient; don't use abrasives or strong solvents.
I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the appearance of this gun after a gentle cleaning
Best Austin
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