Howdy Pards!
The 3rd Model, P1853 Enfields used in the ACW left the British factories with rust-blued barrels, heat blued barrel bands, and color-case hardened lockplates and hammers.
However, some were "struck bright" before issuance, and some fewer were struck bright in the field. The exact reason is not known, although sometimes it was to present a more uniform apperance to companies in a regiment where they had a mix of "Springfields" that were burnished bright and "Enfields." Sometimes it was just what the colonel "liked."
Typically, the cylinders on the C & B era Colt line were blued as were the barrels, with color-case hardened frames. I have never seen a reference to bright cylinders.
"Legitmate" wear on revolvers,(or long guns) comes from legitimate use. And wear type, patterns, an dlocation can be distinctive such as cylinder wear or "holster wear." While there are some lads with the craft, skills, and tools/chemicals to simulate "wear" that appears natural rather than unnatural or faked, most that I have seen is "tell tale" unnatural.
IMHO, the other "extreme" is the somewhat "popular" (in some circles) "original finish" which is not really the finish original to the gun, but rather the type of patina, wear, and "lack of finish" found on some surviving originals were color case hardening has turned to gray and dark, dirty shadows; bluing has turned to plum brown; or metal has turned to dull metalic gray (espeically if someone in the Near or Recent Past decided that the remains of color case hardening was dirty and plum brown was rust- and abraded or buffed everything down to bare metal where it has dulled, started to blacken, or even started to rust and turn brown since the 1960's, 1940's 1930's etc., etc., etc.,
What this type of treatment does, IMHo, is to create an "antique" (meaning the gun looks like a modern 100 year old, 150 year old, or 250 year piece- and NOT like it did when the gun was actually being used...)
Others' mileage, and likes or dislikes in gun appearance, may vary...
Mick Archer