With the barrel removed from the receiver of the Marlin Model 60, the full extent of the "hammer attack" can be seen. The aluminum receiver can be easily refinished using aftermarket spray-on finishes.

When I was a much younger gunsmith, aluminum and aluminum alloys were seldom used in the better quality, higher grade firearms. There was widespread prejudice among most gun people against the use of any metal other than standard chrome-moly steel. Generally, aluminum was used only in the cheaper firearms. Often incorrectly identified as pot metal, aluminum was often used only for noncritical parts such as trigger guards or buttplates.

Well, a lot has changed since then. The public has come to appreciate the many virtues of aluminum. Not only can parts like receivers be made significantly lighter with aluminum, you never have to worry about rust, the nemesis of all chrome-moly steel guns. Then there is the cost factor. Aluminum can be cast and machined for a lot less than steel, and this means lower cost for the manufacturer and less expensive guns for the public.

While this is all good, aluminum does have problems. It's softer than steel and can be damaged more easily. In the past, aluminum has been anodized, which is an electroplated surface finish or coating. This was not a process that could normally be done by the neighborhood gunsmith. In fact, for many years there was no generally accepted and available way of refinishing aluminum parts.

I remember the first aluminum gun I was asked to refinish. It was a Marlin Model 99 .22 semiautomatic rifle, and it belonged to a farmer who raised a lot of produce for sale to grocery stores in my area. He kept the rifle in his pickup and used it frequently to dispatch rabbits and the other critters that literally ate into his profits. The rifle had seen a lot of use and was in really sad shape. However, it functioned flawlessly, and he liked it.

He wanted it blued. I explained that I could blue the steel barrel, but I couldn't blue the receiver because it was aluminum. In fact, blueing salts would dissolve the receiver! He thought for a bit and then said he would settle for anything that would make it look better.

I was in a quandary. Then I had an idea. I went to the local auto parts store and bought a can of flat black engine block spray paint. I figured if the paint was tough enough to withstand the heat and stress of being on an automobile motor, it would hold up on a little .22 rifle.

I blued all the steel parts, refinished the stock, and then coated the receiver with the engine block paint. It looked great, and the owner was delighted. The rifle returned to its position in his pickup and was used for many more years. The last time I saw it, the finish on the receiver was still lookin' good. It seemed to have held up better than the original finish.

Recently a friend asked me to take a look at a Marlin Model 60, which is almost identical to the older Model 99. Unlike that earlier rifle, though, this one had not seen much use. When viewed from the left side it looked unused. The problem, however, was readily apparent when it was viewed from the right side.

Some time back, the rifle had jammed with the bolt stuck in the forward position, and someone had decided the way to get the bolt open was to beat on it with a hammer! Not only was that a bad idea, but they weren't all that accurate with their aim. There were countless dings and divots all around the ejection port and right side of the receiver. In fact, the ejection port was so chewed up it looked more like a rat hole.