You want to strip the finish?

 

I hope not....cleaning up ok, unless it's damaged.

 

I would...



I would disassembly the bolt, clean and deburr as needed, lightly oil and reassemble the bolt.
Now the bolt I have pictures here is from a different model but disassembly is identical except for the extractors.

Picture #1 shows the first step in disassembly the bolt. The Mainspring Cap unscrews from the Bolt Body. There will be tension on the cap particularly if you haven't set the bolt handle down to relieve most of the spring pressure. There will still be some spring pressure but you will be able to remove it and reinstall it by hand without a problem!! To unscrew the Mainspring cap you can clamp the Bolt Body in a vise between two pieces of soft pine and use a pair of channel lock or vice-grip pliers with a heavy piece of leather, or a bunch of layers of cardboard to grab the Mainspring Cap and unscrew it. You may get lucky and only need two pair of slip-joint pliers with appropriate padding between the jaws of the pliers and the bolt!!! I always try the 2nd method first, but if that doesn't work the 1st method has never failed me!!!

Picture #2 shows the Mainspring Cap, Plunger and Spring removed and layed out next to the Bolt Body

Picture #3 shows the entire bolt disassembled and layed out, minus the extractors, the extractor springs, and plungers. I ID'ed all the parts but for your 142A the part #'s will not be the same, but as far as looks and disassembly and reassembly, virtually identical, except the extractors of course.

This picture shows a 142K, the bottom half of the picture shows some bolt detail. Notice that the extractors are held in place by the STAKE MARKS or punch marks. DO NOT damage or file them off, cause then you are... well in a difficult situation. Essentially you will need a new bolt if you mess up those stake/punch marks
The extractors on your 142A are different from the 44 US bolt in the top 3 pictures and they can be a pain to get out if you aren't used to them.

More 142 detail!!! Just study the picture!!! The ejector is held in place by a screw that comes up from the bottom and also holds the front of the trigger group and the angle that the mag attaches to!!!

This picture shows the ejector removed from the receiver and reassembled to hold the parts it would normally hold if assembled into the receiver. From the top not counting the screw... The ejector. The angle bar and adjusting bracket. This is the part that the mag attaches to, and the little threaded thing at the end is how you would adjust trigger weight. And the little thin piece is the magazine latch!!!
Any other questions study the link to the exploded view below!!!
http://www.box54.com/ex142a.jpg
And here is the site that the exploded view came from!!! It is the sticky with the green arrow at the top of the Mossberg forum!!! OK, I'm typed out... Have fun!!!
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=52822
God Bless, Frank.

 

Before you put that nephew too high on your estate list think about trading for something that I have that you might want. Just a thought. But it is pretty as a picture(s). After you get it cleaned up, of course.
Crow Feather

 

Traded it for a hug today. Didn't know you were interested until it was too late.

Happy kid. New squirrel hunting buddy.:bthumb:

 

Big thanks to Steve1002 for the offer of the peg. He is one of the many reasons this is such a great place to hang out.

 

Great pics

I also have just acquired a "new to me" middle-1950s Mossberg 142-A.
It's missing the sling, but otherwise looks all original.
The bluing on the barrel is thin with some rust spots and some shiny areas from handling, probably in the summer, in the South, with sweaty hands.

Mine has the wood folding fore-end, but a "round" bolt knob.

Some pics.

Oh, on the pic below you can see the green "Safe" dot is missing. I've still got the red one. I'd like to buy a green one and glue it in there, if it's cheap and easy to find.

I hate how my digital camera won't focus on small objects held in front of it. It always wants to focus on the background. I miss my Canon AE1 SLR and its simple manual settings.

In the pic below, the finish looks worse in this photo than it does in real life!

P.S. The primary reason I bought this rifle was to be a "little brother" to a couple of centerfire rifles that also have military-style looks and peep sights.
Like this Mini-30:

And this 1903-A3 Springfield:

 

Enjoyed your excellent Pics:t

I'm very happy for you,that your little 142 has both correct sights!:t:t

You can get green safety peg from........ www.havlinsales.com