I recently purchased a Ruger Service Six for cheap because it had not been properly taken care of.
Apparently, it had developed a patina of rust which whoever owned it had used steel wool to remove. It isn't a pretty gun by any stretch of the imagination.
When I took it to the range, it seemed sluggish and stiff. Occasionally, it would just not want to rotate the cylinder. Not locked up, but very sluggish to the point I had to assist the cylinder with hand pressure. Trigger was fairly light but sluggish as well. Putting a few drops of oil in various spots didn't help much.
Today I took it apart and cleaned it.
This was the dirtiest and most fouled revolver I have ever seen. All the internal parts looked like they had been coated with molasses. Old oil, powder fouling, light rust, and just general neglect had left the moving parts just barely moving.
Fortunately, these revolvers are easy to take apart. I soaked the trigger group and cylinder from this one in Hoppes for about 10 minutes then blew it out with Gun Scrubber. It still needed some work with a brush to get the really hard to remove stuff off. I cleaned out the frame with Hoppes and Gun Scrubber while I was soaking the other parts.
After lightly oiling the assorted parts, I reassembled the gun.
Man what a difference that made. The action is now smooth and easily worked both double and single action. The lockup on the cylinder is tighter now also.
I don't understand why people will not take care of a good firearm. It isn't difficult. With a little care, a revolver like this will last a lifetime.
Unfortunately, it still is not a pretty gun, but now it works like a new one.