Cleaning up a Marlin 781 .22LR

I thought I posted this a couple of days ago, but I guess I closed the window before I hit "submit." :rolleyes:

I purchased a Marlin 781 over the weekend and the stock is in pretty good shape. a little dry but in good shape. However, there are a lot of rust and pits in the barrel and the blueing is mottled like an animal print. So I decided to turn this into my first foray into "refinishing".
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...arlin78104.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...arlin78105.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...arlin78103.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...1restore06.jpg

I broke out the Blue and Rust Remover from Birchwood and my polishing sandpaper and got to work. After hand sanding (there are still some pits, but they're not as noticeable).

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...handpolish.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...rhandpolis.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...rhandpolis.jpg

More pics to come as I get more done on it.

So the question.... anyone know how to get that front sight hood off?

TIA,

Dave

Push the front sight hood and it will slide off. Tap with plastic-headed mallet if it is stubborn.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Enfielder

Push the front sight hood and it will slide off. Tap with plastic-headed mallet if it is stubborn.

---

That's it? Oh man. I"ll need to get a mallet. I tried pushing by hand, no dice.

Thanks!

Dave

So my first foray into restoration in complete. The pits and the gouges in the metal were way to deep to get 100% smooth without changing the shape. It's a shame.

The Marlin does look a lot better than before. iPhone camera isn't the greatest indoors, so my apologies ahead of time for the quality of the pics.

after the buffing wheels:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone04.jpg

Those marks aren't scratches from the polish, they're actually gouges that were in the metal

http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone05.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone08.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone07.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone06.jpg

After assembly:
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone10.jpg
http://i284.photobucket.com/albums/l...toredone09.jpg

thx
D

you blueing it or spray n bake? parking it would prolly look niiiice wth a fresh refinish on the stock. great work.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by nateebobo

you blueing it or spray n bake? parking it would prolly look niiiice wth a fresh refinish on the stock. great work.

---

Not sure if i'm going to home blue or bake it. I've never done either so it would be a learning experience either way.

However, I DO like shiny things and it does wipe down very easily. I might have to put a poll out there to see what people think.

As for the stock, that will be next I'll get some remover to bubble the finish off, sand it smooth again and give it the Boiled Linseed Oil treatment or some woodstain. Haven't thought that far ahead on that either.

Wow! Very nicely done cleaning that sweet looking 22lr!

I second the parking of it!

Nice work, I just started on a 782 this afternoon. Quick question, how hard is it to remove the rear sight? The one I have no longer has a front sight, and I was just thinking of removing the rear sight to clean the lines up some. It would also make cleaning the barrel up that much easier.

Dan

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hunterdan

Nice work, I just started on a 782 this afternoon. Quick question, how hard is it to remove the rear sight? The one I have no longer has a front sight, and I was just thinking of removing the rear sight to clean the lines up some. It would also make cleaning the barrel up that much easier.

Dan

---

Thanks for the compliment!

At least with the 781, the rear sight tapped out after you removed the elevation adjuster. It's held in by the tension of the rear sight pushing down on it.

Take a brass punch and tap it out. Mine was rusted to the barrel so I ended up using a steel punch and a significant amount of force.

Hope this helps.

D