There has been some talk of renovation lately ,may I add my own comments on this.Renovation was at one time my stock in trade ,if you will excuse the expression. Over my time I must have done hundreds. It is my belief that any gun must be renovated sympathetically, in so much that you have to work with what you have and to try to make the finished work in keeping with the gun.
I have seen far,far to many nice old guns that have been ruined by over renovation. Accept that it is not going to look like new ,if it has a few marks left on the wood ,action or barrels then live with it.
To start if the gun is to be used the barrels must be put into as good order as possible ,then any action work such as rejointing ,lock work or ejection. Wood work needs to be cleaned ,dents and scratches removed as far as possible, point or shoulders dressed , and re checkered ,this can be a full recut or merely running through. It is a big mistake in my opinion to over do this and the checker should not be to sharp .Replace any worn or damaged pins as a good job can be spoiled by gappy screw slots and chewed up screw heads . Black or brown the barrels ,black ant parts that would have been originally blacked/blued , I do not like to see hammer guns with blacked hammers or trigger plates . Actions that were originally colour hardened can be brushed or left dependent on the state they are in ,but again I dislike to see them bright like a new coin or even worse polished.
There are many things to consider and personal taste is one ,whether you like your stocks to be polished to a high gloss or left with a subdued oil finish,which incidentally can hide a lot of imperfections.
Any renovation has two important points ,the first is wear to start and deciding what you actually want to do .The second and possibly the most important is knowing when to stop.
