>Certainly, I can understand why - replacement finishes can be done
>improperly, and will be of different chemical composition compared to
>the original anyway, and may not even appear accurate. But I tend to
>be somewhat more pragmatic about the idea, and it pains me to see some
>things that could still be leading a useful life not being allowed to
>on account of "it won't be original any more!"

Heh, C&Rsenal recently started a second video series featuring their resident gunsmith, talking about what he has to do to inspect and prep the guns they shoot for filming. In the first episode, he's taken the furniture off a Lee-Enfield rifle and discovered that it's very rusty underneath the wood, and he goes off on the most delightful little side rant. "We're not gonna refinish it—God forbid! Someone's gonna have to tell me when a lack of maintenance becomes patina," he says, investing the last word with such audible disdain that some of it drips out and burns little sizzling holes in the floor. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.