My son offered to clean a Rossi model-88 for a friend. This gun was probably 30-yrs old and not fired much. Upon taking the side plate off, we could see dark goo on some of the internals. Like heavy axle grease. Is this typical of guns with age? What's the best course of action?
I ended up, disassembling the trigger works, used WD40 as a solvent to clean out the goo, wiped it all dry and then applied a miniscule amount of white moly on the pins and friction surfaces. Dry firing seemed a bit smoother afterward. If it was mine, I'd have done some polishing also as I'd done with my S&W model-64, which is nearly identical inside except for the main spring. These are the only 2 revolvers, I've gone into and I was flying by the seat of my pants and now wonder what I more experienced person would do. Your comments, critical review, and suggestions are requested. Thank you and I hope this will help others as well.
I ended up, disassembling the trigger works, used WD40 as a solvent to clean out the goo, wiped it all dry and then applied a miniscule amount of white moly on the pins and friction surfaces. Dry firing seemed a bit smoother afterward. If it was mine, I'd have done some polishing also as I'd done with my S&W model-64, which is nearly identical inside except for the main spring. These are the only 2 revolvers, I've gone into and I was flying by the seat of my pants and now wonder what I more experienced person would do. Your comments, critical review, and suggestions are requested. Thank you and I hope this will help others as well.