Have just stripped to relube and check leather washer only to find that with a finger over the transfer port there is no resistance so air must be passing the washer.
On looking at the washer feels dry and hard is this norm or should washer be soft a moist????????????
Would it benifit from a overnight soaking in something????
It is riveted to the piston so will not be able to remove.
Lube with silicon oil (R/C shock oil) and let it sit overnight. Squeeze out and dry with a cloth. Whe you install it back in the gun, it will diesel for a while but should clear up.
"but I'll be needin' that gun, fer squirrels and such."
Use a 75/25 mixture of neat’s-foot oil & silicone oil. The silicone cuts the neat's-foot so it does not diesel quite as much. Leather sealed pistons all diesel to some extent. It is inherent to their design.
The seal is probably hard, in part, due to oxidation of the previous lubricants.
These oils/greases have probably become a hard varnish like substance.
It is best to remove this crud before re-oiling.
I have found lacquer thinner to be suitable for removing the crud.
Soak & blot, soak & blot, soak & blot +++++.
When the seal dries, I like to lightly soak or spray it with Dri-Slide.
When the Dri-Slide carrier evaporates, it leaves a mixture of 1/3 graphite, 1/3 moly, 1/3 petroleum based preserver/fuel in/on the leather.
I then soak the seal with pure silicone oil (Air Rifle Headquarters 1980 - I still have two bottles)to aid in preserving, softening, and swelling.
I avoid neatsfoot oil because I have seen seals turned to mush by it.
Also many "neatsfoot oil compounds" are mostly mineral oil with a minor of neatfoot.
My leather sealed Diana 22, 27s & 35 (1960s), Shinbishi, Walther LG53 (1958), and Wischo S70(1973) and dozens of airguns owned by others all received this treatment and are all working fine.
