I need some help folks.  I have a Jungle Carbine (real one I already checked) in rather unfortunate condition.  Sorry that I don't have any decent pictures of it to show examples of its condition.

However, the stock has some really nasty gouges and scratches in it.  I've stopped all the rusting and pitting on the few areas where there was any.  I've tried to clean out the barrel but every time I put a patch through it, it comes out green.  I've still got lots of cosmoline all over it (which I'm working diligently to fix).

I love the little gun and my wife bought it for me a few years ago for about $150.  I've been reading up on the Box-o-Truth pages on how to bring life back into the neat little gun.

My question still stands... do I fix it up?  Sand out all the scratches and gouges in the wood?  Remove all the cosmoline and blueing from the metal and reblue it?

Part of me really wants to leave it in it's original "battle hardened" condition.  But the other part of me thinks this little rifle will truly shine with a new finish on the wood and new blueing on the metal.

Oh, and I'm pretty sure the numbers match up.  I don't think the magazine matches, but I'm pretty sure all the parts on the rifle all match.

Tough call.  Normally I'd say no but this one sounds like its in pretty rough shape.  

If it were mine and it really is in that bad of shape I'd do at least a modest refinish.

just as an update...

I just checked... all the numbers match with exception of the magazine.  I will be taking the gun to my local gunsmith to have him check to see if the barrel/bore/chamber are worth the effort in refinishing the gun.  I'm thinking either way it couldn't hurt to fix up the old lady as I never intend to sell it.

Any further thoughts or advice would be greatly appreciated.

I almost never touch a stock with sandpaper. If it were mine I would clean all the goop off the metal, work hard on the barrel, degrease and refinish the stock with BLO but no sanding. Maybe use some steam to raise some of the dents but deep scratches and gouges would stay as they are. I like the been there done that look on a old milsurp rifle. If you sand the wood and blue the metal the value will drop tremendously. Even if you never sell it, a all matching JC is a nice piece of machinery and it will be passed on to someone down the line. Might as well stay as valuable as possible.

Here is a pic of my Jungle Carbine along with some of my other Enfields.

What I would do. Take the rifle part. Wrap the wood & metal in brown paper grocery bags. Put them in your car trunk for a day of baking. Use some mild Simple green on the stock and bake it again. Clean all the metal w/ FP10 and a bronze brush. Clean the bore w/ outers foaming bore cleaner, this may take a few times to get the copper out. I use only a flannel cotton clothe on the metal after the initial cleaning. You can take a damp clothe and you wifes iron to the dents. Place a damp towel over the dent and iron it out. Give the stock a few good coatings of BLO and let dry, wipe off after 24 hours between each coat, it will drive out the remaining cosmo and help the dent scratch dilemma. You can Iron out more stock issues after some BLO TLC. It may take a few weeks, but it is well worth it.  JP

Here is my 1942 No4MK1/2 after this treatment. The faded areas are from it being carried.  

You will not be able properly refinish the metal. The original finish on a No. 5 is Suncorite, and that process is not available here in the US.

Do what you can with the wood, and leave the metal alone.

-Mark

Don't touch the metal and don't sand the stock, both of these actions would tremendously effect the value. As others said wipe the metal off and maybe use some bronze wool  on the rougher spots of rust and use some BLO on the wood.

I've used denatured alchohol to remove the grime on a few of my old rifles and then used BLO to make them look nice. The alchohol will take the stock down to the bare wood without sanding.

To clean out the bore, try the Electoris Bore Cleaning Method: Electrolysis Bore Cleaning

Here is where I tried it on a VERY rusty bore on a M91/30: http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=14&t=287356