How to clean this Gew 98?

[Lancer-86]

I picked this matching DWM 1816 a few months ago from the trader section. Initially I gave the receiver a once over with some oil and very fine brass wool, but I have been too busy in the last few months to revisit it. Since the new K98 book just came out I decided to re-read the entire series. Ever since the first chapter I've been paying more attention to this rifle. The discoloration on the receiver is not deep. It almost feels like you could scrape it off with a finger nail, but it is stubborn. I'm not sure what it is from. Any suggestions to bring out the original white of the receiver without damaging it? Any comments or opinions are greatly appreciated.

 

[mauser1908]

Leave it as is, doing anything more will clean away hundreds of dollars in value. Plus it won’t look right contrasted against the aged stock and other metal parts.

 

[toulon44]

i'm with mauser 1908 , all my rifles are as they are and i keep them like this , your G98 is not so bad .

ber

 

[Loewe]

I will take an argumentative stance, I would use 0000 steel wool on the bright metal. I have always used it and with a high quality oil it will not harm the metal, use a uniform pattern though and I wouldn't get too enthusiastic. Fact is with such porosity you are not going to change the color of the metal, not short of a mechanical method like MauserBill use to use, which many objected to as too harsh.

Just avoid the blued parts, I sometimes used it sparingly on the barrel, and I think in deliberate doses it can be beneficial, but it can lead to scratching of the blued parts, fine little lines, - again use extreme care and practice moderation, watch for scratching (more a problem when the blue is really nice and no blemishes are seen, which I would recommend against in such a case). Always use a uniform pattern or direction, that way if you do scratch the metal it won't be so noticeable or distracting.

Naturally, I am always sympathetic to the argument that less is more when it comes to cleaning metal and stocks. It wouldn't hurt doing nothing and the possible improvement is likely to be minimal. So just go slow and think about it as you progress, it is never a bad idea to think more about how you are to proceed before you act.

 

[reich1900]

My best suggestion is leave it alone. It looks good as is but maybe a tooth brush and paper towel cleaning wouldn't hurt.

 

[heavy10]

Douse all metal in boiling hot water, then soak in Kroil for days; scrub it with plastic bristles and/or fine steel wool or bronze wool.

Clean it with hot soapy water, rinse with clean boiling hot water, then re-Kroil it. Do this many times, over weeks.

Heat is the key. Hot metal soaks in oil very well, and boiling hot water evaporates immediately.

If any serious corrosion needs scraping, flatten the edge of a pre-1982 penny (95% pure copper) and use that with copious amounts of oil.

Flitz metal polish at the end is excellent. It won't harm bluing (it will remove cold bluing, which is good). It is less abrasive than your toothpaste.

Less is more, patience and good technique is the order of the day. Unless you are confident in yours skills, it may be better just to wipe it down liberally with your gun oil of choice. Rust and patina that has accumulated over decades will not disappear in a day. A few wrong swipes, and you've taken a $1k rifle into a $300 rifle.

I have used the above methods to turn $100 barn-found rifles into $1k collectable rifles.

Patience

 

[mauser1908]

Just remember a huge part in cleaning is to mate the finish with the rest of the rifle. If the bluing has browned, and the stock is beat up a shined receiver will look bad. Also pay attention to the amount of niter bluing on the bolt release. I have used Paul's method many times, I leave the stain but knock down anything crusty or active rust.

You are the right person to make that call, as it's your rifle. The level to which you clean it can best be determined by an in person assessment of the rifle.

 

[nirvana]

Leave it alone. The rifle exhibits enough wear that a polished receiver would look bizarre and out of place.

 

[feldmütze]

I've picked up a couple just like this. I can be cleaned up, slowly & with due care, quite well without a pimp shine...

 

[Fal Grunt]

A process that I use that NPS is reviewing for their use is as follows.

Remove all surrounding components, like wood, the bolt, etc... Using White Scotch Brite with Stoddard solvent, work with the existing machining marks, keeping fresh pad exposed to the area you are working.

This process will not effect any of the surrounding area and will very lightly and gently remove the rust. It can be used on areas that are blued and even fragile finishes such as resulting from a salt bath draw (modern equivalent being nitre bluing) If it is heavy rust, it will not remove the rust, but at that point neither will most products other than using a chemical process or something of a coarser abrasive.

However, what you have is no longer rust, but essentially bluing. I would agree with most members that altering it may look odd.