Bill, I like Laurel Mountain Barrel Brown & Degreaser. The second part of your question can often be a hotly contested issue. As for me, I subscribe to the British philosophy of maintaining a gun in working order. That is send it to a reputable "smith" and have the gun gone over from top to bottom including appearance as required. This method insures that the firearm will be around for another 100 years as a reliable shooter. After all, in another 100 years who is going to know that the gun was refinished a 100 years earlier. The person having the gun will think its really cool that he can be out shooting a gun that is 200 years old.