[chestnut ridge]

By Mass. Arms Co Chicopee Falls, patent dates 1853, 1856, 1857.

Caliber .36. condition- some fool reblued it. However it was not
polished or buffed. Original grips, functions and is complete.

My question; would it be possible to strip the blueing with some
type of chemical dip? Then it would be in the patina expected
for a civil war revolver that has seen poor storage.

[Jim K]

First, make sure the gun really was reblued. IIRC, those revolvers have a pretty nice "black" bluing that, if well preserved over the years, might be thought to be a reblue.

If you confirm that the gun is reblued, and want to do it, you can remove the blue with Birchwood-Casey Rust and Blue Remover, but be very careful, since it is acid and will "frost" the metal if it stays on even a second too long. But with the bluing off, then what? Let it rust? Put on some other kind of finish? Something to think about.

Frankly, I strongly recommend you leave it alone. If it is reblued, it already has undergone one "treatment"; IMHO it doesn't need another, and trying to do as you suggest will only decrease the value more.

FWIW, those guns were made in the U.S. but are based on the British Adams-Kerr patents. Based on the patent dates, your gun is not the more valuable Navy model, but the fairly well known (4500 made) civilian gun. Some were purchased by individual servicemen during the Civil War, but only 600 of the Navy model were actually bought under contract for the U.S. and have inspectors' marks.

Jim