This Could Save Your Butt

[Rod N. Gunn]

I'm cleaning up a top-lever hammergun, not trying to restore it, just cleaning up the oil and muck trying to make it sound for once a year use as a turkey gun. Everything has gone well until I took a soft brush and some dish soap to the butt plate (which had a little faded, UV-exposed, oxidized look to it along with a lot of crude). To my dismay, when it dried it was clean but had turned a hideous yellow color. After some searching I found a product used by antique pen collectors (many old pens are made of hard rubber) and vintage car restorers (for hard rubber knobs) that restains faded and oxidized hard rubber. It seems to have worked pretty well. Before and after photos included for your review and comment.