Buddy bought an old 700 from a gun show and brought it over to the house. I told him something was not right about the gun as Remington did not make a stain black gun way back with a gloss stock. He left and carried it home and started cleaning it. He called me later to tell me the more he cleaned the more crap came off the rifle.
Turns out the action and part of the barrel closest to the receiver were pitted. The guy he bought it from had taken black shoe polish and filled in the pits and buffed everything down. I don't know what he put on the gun to keep the shoe polish from coming off on your hands but it did not. My buddy bought the gun for the action and was not upset about it as he was building a beater rifle to lone out to others that did not have a gun when they went hunting with him. Needless to say that gun is still known as the shoe polish gun.
