Prepping The Receiver
Marlin, like many other arms makers, has gotten away from electroplating or anodizing aluminum parts. As best I could tell, this new receiver had been painted rather than plated. That was good in that it made removal of the original finish a bit easier.

After removing the original finish with bead-blasting, Reid smoothed out the dents and dings with a cloth-backed abrasive backed by a flat file. The receiver was bead blasted again to blend the polished area with the rest of the receiver.

The first step was to strip the rifle and pull the barrel from the receiver. Like many modestly priced .22s, the barrel was secured to the receiver with a transverse pin. Just knock out the pin, secure the barrel in a padded vise, and carefully drive the receiver off the barrel shank with a plastic hammer.

With the barrel removed I then used my bead-blasting outfit to quickly remove the paint from the outside of the receiver. Once the paint was blasted away, I used a variety of cloth-backed abrasives wrapped around a flat file to smooth up the right side of the receiver. I also used a small half-round needle file to contour the edge of the ejection port. It was just a matter of patience and time until virtually all evidence of the "hammer attack" was removed.

I then carefully bead-blasted the surface to remove any sanding marks from the abrasive. This also helped to prepare the surface for the next step. The receiver was then cleaned with Tipton Insta-Clean, my favorite aerosol spray solvent that is available from MidwayUSA, to remove all traces of abrasive and any oil or fingerprints.

It's important to keep in mind that fresh aluminum begins to oxidize immediately upon exposure to air, so you will want to apply your finish as quickly as possible after preparing and cleaning the metal surface. If you don't, a layer of oxide will develop and your paint will not adhere properly. Work very quickly!

Applying A Durable Finish
While engine block paint could be used, there are many other better products now on the market. I chose the Wheeler Engineering Cerama-Coat, which is sold by MidwayUSA for about $14. This is a durable, flat black aerosol paint that contains ceramic particles. This provides an additional element of durability unlike anything else available on the market.

I used the Cerama-Coat on aluminum, but it can be used on virtually any metal surface. It's a great coating for regular steel guns used for duck hunting that are regularly exposed to water. In fact, Cerama-Coat will provide more protective finish than standard blueing.

I made a point of keeping as much of the spray out of the inside of the receiver as possible. (I don't think any of the "spray-on, bake-on" finishes should be used on any internal moving parts.) I sprayed two light coats of Cerama-Coat on the receiver, allowing it to dry for 30 minutes between coats. I was especially careful to avoid any runs, which are normally caused by getting a bit heavy handed with the spray. I held the receiver about 8 inches from the spray can and made short, light "shots," constantly moving the spray can and never allowing it to stop on the receiver.

After air-drying for 30 minutes after the last coat, the receiver was placed in a preheated toaster oven to "cook" for one hour at 350 degrees. (You could use your wife's kitchen stove, but I wouldn't advise that. For some reason women seem to have a totally irrational opposition to allowing their husbands to refinish guns in their ovens. That being the case, I long ago decided it was best for my health and marriage to just go ahead and pick up an inexpensive toaster oven for use in the shop.)

Be sure to get an accurate oven thermometer. You need to know the exact temperature, and most inexpensive toaster ovens don't have accurate or precise temperature controls. More than likely you'll find the numbers on the temperature control on the oven will not correspond to your thermometer. Go with the thermometer.

Cerama-Coat was applied to the cleaned, bead-blasted receiver, and the receiver was "cooked" in a toaster oven. The refinished aluminum receiver looks as good as new.

Once the receiver had cooked for an hour, I removed it from the oven and allowed it to cool down. It took a while because the receiver was very hot! I let mine set over night. I then inspected it for any missed runs or surface imperfections.

It looked fine, so I reassembled the rifle. My friend was just as pleased with the results as that old farmer was years ago. The rifle showed virtually no evidence of the hammer attack.

This type of finishing project is well within the capabilities of most hobbyists and gun owners. And there are lots of old and worn aluminum guns and parts out there that could certainly use some TLC.

Until next time, good luck and good gunsmithing!