And yet another 1868 dated 1868 Springfield...

**Dick Hosmer** · 12-13-2016, 07:24

Aside from its' rarity, that is a really pretty 1868! A few (expected) dings of course, but virtually no wear.

I'll have to be honest and say that - looking at the first "after" picture - I was appalled by the seemingly rush (as opposed to rushed, an entirely different concept) cleaning job, until I saw the rest of the results. Normally, you don't clean a bright gun because it will look phony. But, that gun was nice enough, under the crud, to pull it off, and now looks really nice. I'm sorely tempted to follow his methods on #62, which is in similar condition. Good job, Fred!

**Fred** · 12-13-2016, 10:58

THANKS Dick!
I only Very Lightly brushed the blued and case hardened surfaces with lots of oil and #000 BRONZE Wool.
No original finishes where scratched or removed this way.
The barrel and butt plate were without corrosion and cleaning 148 years of crud off was easy with a Fine BRONZE wire wheel that I put on my bench grinder. First, I oiled them down and let them sit for a spell.
All that aside, ain't that a nice trapdoor that was hiding under all that dirt!

**Fred** · 12-13-2016, 11:13

I still have not removed the trigger guard or see a reason to by me. I have not touched the wood either with anything.

**Fred** · 12-13-2016, 01:23

I see this rifle as one that can be studied and measured to obtain what the original Armory measurements were because there seems to be no wear to the original surfaces. That's a pretty neat thing!