All the better shots on my web site (that aren’t credited to Oleg– his are the best) were done in the above manner, and all with basic equipment and very little photographer’s knowledge to speak of. Though Photoshop or something approaching it is important (I use Ps on everything, even if only to adjust output levels for correct luminosity, or to remove the background) it’s not strictly required.

Best to oil as much as you feel comfortable disassembling. I’ve experienced some real horror shows with rusted and deteriorating internals (springs and firing pins always get the worst of it).

And for the internal of the barrel you can clean like any other black powder gun. The real problem is pitting in the barrel is a major pain to clean well. (I hope you don’t have that issue, but if you do you can always use nylon brushes if you can find them big enough.) If you don’t plan on (or can’t) shoot the gun, get a good gun grease and give it a very liberal mopping down.

For the exposed wood I’d just wipe it down with a damp cloth that has some mild detergent in it and dry it immediately. Don’t oil the stock. The oils you have for woodworking will probably ruin the original finish that you gun appears to have. Actually your stock looks pretty good from the pictures. Don’t use linseed oil either. It’s not the same thing as would have been used originally and it isn’t a pleasant thing to work with either. (The oil takes a long time to dry and can hold dust that makes the finish feel odd.)

Oddly enough most guns of that era look pretty crappy to someone used to new and well cared for firearms. The browning is usually patchy and mistaken for rust. But a full removal of the browning and/or rebrowning of the piece will make it lose a vast majority of its value because it loses it’s historical relevance.

Get some nice oil and put it all over. Rub it off with a _soft_ rag. May want to repeat.

First thing, some nice oil and a soft cloth.

http://www.nps.gov/spar/historyculture/guncare.htm

DO NOT USE STEEL WOOL. That brown color is called patina … lose that and your collector value becomes zero.

My reccomendation is to first remove the Pineal glands from Paul Helmke, Josh Sugarmann and Bryan Miller.

Then squeeze them, even stomp on them if ya wanna.

Then set them on the table to stare at while you painstakenly follow someone else’s advice on removing surface rust.

If you don’t want to get it evaluated, just oil it and leave it. Any abrasive media may damage existing browning and you’ll lose most of your value.

I know blotchy browning is common on a lot of old firearms. (I have my share since I collect stuff from WW1 and earlier.) It may look crappy, but it’s part of the history so you may just want to leave it stable.

Of course, you still need to stabilize the metal under the wood, which is the hard part. I hate doing that part, because you always discover how bad your gun has gotten.

Do that FIRST!!

Then proceed accordingly.

And nice rifle!

The Krag doesn’t kick quite like the Trapdoor but it’s a fun bolt cartridge. Congratulations on your family heirloom.

I second the copper wool

Ballistol and a tooth brush will be good to help clean any gunk/sludge off.

I’ve successfully used copper 0000 wool to remove rust from firearms without scratching or removing bluing. Copper, being softer than steel/iron, doesn’t cut it.

Our family has/had my great-great grandfather’s muzzle-loader shotgun which he carried as a 2nd. Lt in the Texas Cavalry during the War of Northern Aggression, but it was partially destroyed in a housefire about 13 years ago. My brother still has the barrel, mounted on the wall in his shop. Rumor has it that a branch of the family has a carbine and pistol he carried, but I’ve never seen them, nor heard what it is.

Regards,
Rabbit.

Break-free, or rem oil and toothpicks, rag and q-tips for starters. I’d get the book Tam is suggesting and study a bit before breaking it down much.

I carried a 45-70 trapdoor deerhunting a couple of times. It had a BSA dot sight mounted on a rail where the rear sight used to be. No lie. Never got to shoot it at a deer but off the bench it kicked my butt. Lotta recoil.

Is that really a sling that is 100+ years old?

First, go see http://www.pecard.com for correct treatment of antique leather.

A full discussion of the conservation of antique military leather items, much of which applies to other leather artifacts, may be found in: Antique Leather and its Care, by Stephen Dorsey – the Gun Report, Volume 35 No. 10 March 1990. P.O. Box 38, Aledo, IL 61231.

Real operators only use trapdoor rifles.

Real operators only use trapdoor rifles.

That is a very cool thing for your dad to drop off. For me, the equivalent would be for my dad to (drive 750 miles SW and) hand over a WWII M1 Carbine.

Very nice Trapdoor. Have fun cleaning it up. You gonna be shooting it?

tweaker

Spend a couple bucks and get the “For Collectors Only” guide to the Springfield. I think Amazon has ‘em for $20.

It will learn you about them and explain how to take apart & reassemble.