Welp, I finally mustered up the courage and mixed a solution of 1/3 cup white vinegar to 1 cup water and tried soaking a 0000 steel wool pad in that and scrubbing the gun. After 5 minutes of that I was seeing basically no change so I increased the vinegar/water ratio to 1:1 and that started working. I soaked the cylinder in that for a couple of minutes while I scrubbed the frame and barrel with the steel wool soaked with the half vinegar solution and started seeing some progress. I took the cylinder out and started scrubbing the “wear” areas and they scrubbed right off, and when I was happy with how it looked I rinsed with water to hopefully stop the blue removal action.
I soaked the frame/barrel assembly in the half/half solution for a few minutes as well, and scrubbed until it looked okay, then rinsed the frame and barrel as well, and the only part I’m not super happy with is a weird defect in the blue at the front left side of the barrel, but otherwise it looks to me to be pretty close to a realistic approximation of a lot of years of honest use. I rinsed it well inside and out, then hosed well with moose milk and blew it dry with compressed air, then hosed with straight ballistol, and now I’m wiping it down and cleaning it and oiling it.
Meantime the stocks have been soaking 2 cycles with citristrip and then scrubbing with steel wool and water. There’s still a bit of stubborn laquer on the front right but it’s going for a third. Can’t decide if I should darken the stocks before rubbing with wax, or leave them kinda light. I have 1860’s era Colts with both darker and lighter wood, so I imagine either is “authentic” looking. I didn’t want to go crazy with “distressing” it but I did whack the grips lightly with the side of a fork for some realistic looking shallow dings on the sides and some light marks on the bottom, though they may not show once refinished/waxed if I go that route.
Pics below of its current status. I’m pretty pleased and I’m glad my less-aggressive vinegar therory worked out, at least in my estimation. I can always go another round if I feel it’s not enough, but now it at least looks like it could be a real SAA, rather than one molded out of flat black clay or something.