Removing color from casehardened parts may not be removing metal but it certainly is moving metal. Casehardening, in the way that produces varying colors, does so by producing a micro-crystalline surface on the metal that reflects some of the colors in the light spectrum. Oscar Gaddy's great two part writings in the DGJ explained this and showed photos of the crystalline surface taken with an electron microscope, as I recall. Steel wool can certainly wear these tiny surface irregularities in a way that reduces or eliminates their "prismatic" abilities to reflect colors.
Think about it ....... if wear from your hands carrying a gun can eventually wear the color away, certainly anything like steel wool can and will do so. And, it really doesn't matter if the s. wool, or whatever other product one chooses to use, wears the metal away or if it just alters it's structure, when the color goes away the surface micro-structure has been irreparably altered.
I had an A. H. Fox cased hardened a few years ago. The colors were a little bold. Ten minutes and some steel wool removed just enough to put the gun back in balance.
I have a 58 year old car so read a few antique car forums. I have never tried this , but have seen it mentioned a few times for taking rust off of chromed trim.
Wad up some aluminum foil and then scrub off the rust with the foil using Coca Cola.
Thanks builder for the interesting videos. A caution though on using ultrasonic cleaners on guns with cerakote. In my experience the ultrasonics seem to break down cerakoteing. If you have say a 22 pistol with a compensator on it, that gets lead buildup in the comp, a safer method (for the coating) to help remove/soften the lead is to soak the comp in a 50/50 mixture of hydrogen peroxide and either apple cider or distilled white vinegar. I use old plastic pill bottles and let my comps soak for an hour. After this I rinse the comp in a mix of water/baking soda. This will not remove all the lead but does make it much easier to remove what's left.
I've not tried this on old SxS frames/parts but for those without an ultrasonic this method might be helpful for a decent cleaning.
I agree with you. I have used the Brass pad that they sell. It also is made from ribbons of metal and actually replaces the long and tiring process of carding the finish. So many people ruin a gun by using Steel wool..
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