What to Do With My Daddy's Arisaka Bringback

[Surpmil]

And when you're done with the steel wool, enjoy the process of removing it all. Compressed air or carb cleaner, or both. (This is with the stock removed of course.)

It's SOOOO tempting to starting messing with the woodwork, and it's almost always a mistake, and one you cannot correct. As with antiques of any kind, patina takes decades if not centuries to produce and can be ruined in a few hours.

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[martin08]

Now that you have been thoroughly schooled on not altering the wood in any way - skip the ballistol and linseed oil, too. The Japanese used neither on their wood. Just wipe it down with a slightly damp cloth, and not too much elbow grease. It is a war collectible, and is not supposed to look pretty.

I also see that you mentioned touching up the bluing. No. That is not a good idea either. Active rust can be addressed with the methods mentioned above. I use a bronze brush and oil. Steel wool leaves behind small bits of steel wool, and they begin to rust again in a month if you can't get rid of them entirely. Bronze brush. It does the job with a little oil.

Some pics when you can! Thanks for wanting to preserve a family heirloom.