Preservation Update: Started with the US M1892 Krag bayonet first - Thoughts and Opinions?

[ColonelKlink1942]

Hey gang,

My order of bronze bristle brushes and Renaissance Wax showed up this morning, and after doing a test run on one of my brother's rusted railroad spikes, I set to work on a single bayonet. Note: I haven't used the wax yet, and have only really cleaned one small part of the bayonet to see how effective it would be versus a railroad spike that's encrusted with rust and scale. I was able to get some of the rust and scale to come off of the spike, but I had to be aggressive with my brushing, and even used a bit of a tougher bristle brush on it to remove much. It would have gone better had I decided to soak the spike in solution, but I did not. Food for thought on that front.

Taking a user's advice, I focused on a rust patch on the Ricasso and a bit inside the Fuller, so as to clean that up and have it match the surrounding area as best I could, all while not removing the existing finish. On the "after" images below, you will see that after a couple minutes of slow and careful brushing with the bronze bristles, I was able to safely clean and remove the bit of rust and scale on the surface, and having the light shine on the Ricasso, it does not appear to have removed any finish at all. I used Hoppe's No.9 Gun Bore Cleaner to accomplish this, and simply dipped the bristles into that solution. Once I cleaned and removed what I wanted, I carefully wiped it all off with a microfiber towel. I did however notice micro scratches on one part of the Ricasso upon later closer inspection (as evidenced by the very last photo below). 

There is more to do here, but what do you folks think? Does this come off as "too clean" and shooting for a pristine look, or does this appear to keep the aged look of the bayonet? Does the finish look like it's been removed? I'd like to get thoughts and opinions before I proceed with further preserving of this one and any of my bayonets.

 

Before:

 

 

 

After: