If it ‘cleaned up’ and it’s not there any more you’re good to go! I don’t see any corrosion in the obvious spots, screw heads and holes look pristine, hammer sides look good, trigger looks good, the barrel to frame junction looks good. $400?

 

Thanks for the assessment. I appreciate your reply! I do believe this to be a fine specimen.

 

What I’m reading is that it requires a full disassembly to access, clean and lubricate the loading gate bore and shaft.

Ruger designs have always been compatible with home firearm maintenance, (with a few tools and common sense). Pulling one of the three screw revolvers apart, if necessary, is not a huge challenge. You Tube to the rescue

screw heads and holes look pristine

That's a good indicator, it hasn't been bubba'd.
If the price is decent, I'd already be out the door. A quick flush with WD-40, and a dab of fresh grease, presto

 

Ruger designs have always been compatible with home firearm maintenance, (with a few tools and common sense). Pulling one of the three screw revolvers apart, if necessary, is not a huge challenge. You Tube to the rescue

That's a good indicator, it hasn't been bubba'd.
If the price is decent, I'd already be out the door. A quick flush with WD-40, and a dab of fresh grease, presto

Good to know, I’ll be able to disassemble and do a deep cleaning when necessary, but I’m now leaning towards The suspect area being a blob of Grease. Thanks for your reply.

 

Several of the greases used on guns are brown in color ... If things have cleaned up and the gate opens and closes smoothly it is more than likely ok .
Grease is a good thing to use on a loading gate ...
If there were rust , you would see , feel evidence of it .
Gary

 

Yes, it opens and closes smooth as silk And I feel no restriction or grittiness at all. Thanks for your reply.

 

"Rusty oil" ?

Ask the 'Smith who serviced it, unless it was never disassembled, any internal corrosion would have been noticed and cleaned out.
Ask if a copper-based grease was used.

It ain't jewelry, remove the gate and get it clean.

 

"Rusty oil" ?

Ask the 'Smith who serviced it, unless it was never disassembled, any internal corrosion would have been noticed and cleaned out.
Ask if a copper-based grease was used.

It ain't jewelry, remove the gate and get it clean.

yeah, I should’ve said rust colored oil which still doesn’t make sense as this looked more like a paste. Hopefully a good indication that it’s been carefully disassembled and properly lubricated. Thanks for your reply.

 

Grease can get discolored with age. The fact that there is grease there is a good thing.

 

Please see below.

 

Couldn’t agree more and thanks for your reply