I am a "bore" critic and have used a wonderful Hawkeye bore scope for years to closely examine firearms to determine the state of the bore and my cleaning progress. Simply looking down a bore at a light or with a bore light can frequently give false appearances of the real quality of the bore as when examined with a scope.

I have seen much damage done by overzealous cleaning. I would easily turn down a "mirror" bore or chamber that appears to have been cleaned improperly or polished to make an easier sale. I love getting a darker, dirty bore that I spend an hour or more cleaning well to have a great hidden bore reveal itself. I carefully use a new brass brush at times but I almost never polish with abrasives. As butler says above, many of us have found that even a dark, pitted bore can shoot quite well in an older rifle.

But, many uneducated and unaware buyers will be attracted to a shiny bore. Many are also attracted to a freshly cold blued barrel or a nice, shiny varnished stock.

So please limit your over polishing of your rifle bores. Once damaged, these bores cannot be restored to their original condition. It definitely will lower the true collector's value.