I'm sitting here looking at a shotgun with case coloured action and auxilliary parts. It was very nicely done with beautiful colours.
Unfortunately whoever did it put some kind of shiny clear coat varnish on it. It looks "wet", and not classy at all.
I would like to strip this finish and put on a more old fashioned one, but how do I do this without ruining the case colours?

Pettson

Use a solvent such as acetone or mineral spirits and a clean cloth.

A clean cloth is important because old rags often will have grit in them that will scratch.

I would experiment with retouching the finish with a rottenstone or pumice polish. Or unpolish in your case. If that doesn't work then strip it with a commercial stripper and refinish however you wish.

Brent

So you reckon then that the case colours won't be affected by the use of acetone or a paint stripper?

To "unpolish" it is a clever idea, didn't think of that.
Unfortunately the lacquer (or whatever it is) has begun to crack and flake in a couple of spots so a complete refinish might be the only option here.

Pettson

acetone won't affect case colors. I don't know about stripper, but you will need to remove the metal to do the stripping and then remount it and mask it off when doing the finishing.

If it's cracking and flaking, pull off the metal and strip it.
Brent

Color case is affected by ultra violet rays and a coating that is resistant to UV is put on for that reason. Even the shotguns of old had it applied. It did wear of in due course.

I would NOT use any polishing compounds to remove the surface coat as you can easily do some damage to the colored metal surface. You might try calling Doug Turnbull at his site and ask him those questions. He is the best there is at this work.

Thanks for your input. I'll look into this during the holidays. If I get a good result I'll post it here, otherwise probably not...
I'll try to contact Turnbull also.

Happy holidays,

Pettson