What kind of revolver is it?
I've got an H&R break-open revolver, the "22 Special" model. Is it like this?
I think it is rather special, as it is not just another single action cowboy gun or a swing-out Smith. It is very easy to unload the empties and reload the new rounds.
Mine was given to me by my great uncle, who died a few years ago. I think he took it fishing with him, and shot cats that were prowling his back yard with it. The main spring on mine is tired, so it doesn't always have the poop to touch of a round. To be fair, I should try it with some good ammo some time, instead of the bulk crap I feed to my 22s most of the time.
The longer I have this gun, the more it grows on me. It really has a unique character to it. (you will appreciate this as you get older, I think)
The original purpose of bluing was as a corrosion inhibitor. You can take care of that with a bit of oil or WD-40.
I too think it is a good call to keep it original. Spend your money on that new or used Ruger Mk. II or III that we were talking about in the Autoloaders forum.