Steaming the dents.

[Surpmil]

There are exceptions to every rule Sapper740, and you may well have one there!

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[ssgross]

There are exceptions to every rule Sapper740, and you may well have one there!

"newer" dents will usually have sharper edges, sometimes with torn fibers around the edge. I'm very selective when approaching the topic. A rifle is only new once, and making it look new is certainly not the point. My point and goal is to dial back the decades of neglect and abuse. Steaming the newer looking dents, even if they won't come up all the way (often they won't), will soften the edges. If fibers are torn, there is no hope of removing the blemish, but steaming and blending the oil finish will round out the damage, and make it look like it was always there and part of service use, and not tossed in the back of a tractor and forgotten about for 50 years.

Metal work is different. A popular smith once asked "So when does lack of maintenance become patina?" This is a whole other can of worms. Please do the "right" maintenance so these pieces last another century, at least. Chief among this maintenance is neutralizing any active rust.