Hi Greg,
I would not be too harsh with the cleaning. From the pics the finish on the barrel does not look too bad. I am not familiar with the product you mention, but I would use something like WD 40 or CRC 556 to coat the barrel and then use a VERY FINE steel wool to polish. If there is caked rust, then you can use an old BRASS cartridge case squashed at the open end to gently scrape the rust. Generally if you are real careful you won't remove the finish and certainly brass will not scratch steel as it is softer.With ref to the nail in the nipple, it maybe that it was intentionally put there to stop someone from firing the gun. CHECK TO MAKE SURE IT IS NOT STILL LOADED!!
As there are no marks on the gun itself, I can not give any clue as to origin, and the number COULD BE an armoury number, OR it could be a number applied at some stage to identify it as part of someones collection.
Regards Stuart
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