Marlin Golden 39M

[Hugger-4641]

Thought I'd share this for the sake of record if nothing else, but input is welcomed.
So, I have this co-worker, great guy, and his only living relative, his 40ish year old brother, recently passed, and left him this rifle. I don't have the full story on how it ended up in this condition, but I know it went thru a flood and a house fire at one point.
So I agreed to restore it, as best I can, to a functional and somewhat attractive condition. It has no stock, pitted badly, outer magazine tube is pretty damaged and bent, I think I can salvage the forearm. I thought it might be good to document the progress here, so these are some "before" pics of what I'm dealing with:

 

[357smallbore]

That certainly going to be a rebuild for sure. Post the final pics when completed.
Sad to see such a great gun take that beating.

 

[Hugger-4641]

That certainly going to be a rebuild for sure. Post the final pics when completed.
Sad to see such a great gun take that beating.

Will do. Will probably post pics along the way.
One of the things I'm debating and welcome opinions on is the barrel. I'm undecided at this point whether to try to sand out all of the pitting or clean it up just enough to take the bluing.

 

[357smallbore]

If it were me. I'd clean it up, leave the pitting and have the story to add to why it is that way. Won't affect the shooting capability
.

 

[MachIVshooter]

One of the things I'm debating and welcome opinions on is the barrel. I'm undecided at this point whether to try to sand out all of the pitting or clean it up just enough to take the bluing.

I don't think I'd try to reblue with that much damage. A low gloss or satin enamel finish will look better.

This is a Matlin 27s I acquired in rough shape, and had to make new inner & out mag tube for it. I could only find the sizes at the thickness needed in stainless. So between that and the corrosion damage to barrel and receiver, it got refinished in SOCOM black Norrell's Moly Resin:

The Remington model 51 .380 on the right was done in the same color (left pistol is an original finish pristine .32):

 

[Hugger-4641]

If it were me. I'd clean it up, leave the pitting and have the story to add to why it is that way. Won't affect the shooting capability
.

I like that idea. The pitting is so bad, if I sand it enough to remove it may even noticeably change the barrel profile.
I mentioned the idea of cerakote or duracote, which is what I might consider if it were mine. But the owner wants to keep it as close to original finish as possible.

 

[George Dickel]

Looks like it will require a resurrection rather than a restoration. Definitely post after pictures.

 

[Frulk]

“But I know it went through a flood AND a house fire”.

You might want to store that gun off the property when not working on it.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Wanted to add a couple more images to show everyone how nice Moly Resin can look, just had to get to my shop desktop where those photos are. I like it way better than other firearm finishes. Not only does it lay nicely on the surfaces, but you can apply it quite thin where needed, it's very forgiving, it's really durable, and there's no mixing involved; Shake the bottle well, put it in your airbrush or HVLP (I recommend small touch up guns), spray, pour the excess back in the bottle for next time. You can also control the flatness by changing the temperature of the part and/or adjusting air pressure and distance from the part when spraying.

We coat thousands of suppressors, mounts and adapters with it each year. And no, I don't work for Norrell's or get any perks for talking about their product. I just really like it.






A few of the popular color selections (these are Bravo [HUB] converted AAC suppressors):

 

[.45Coltguy]

“But I know it went through a flood AND a house fire”.

You might want to store that gun off the property when not working on it.

 

[Hugger-4641]

“But I know it went through a flood AND a house fire”.

You might want to store that gun off the property when not working on it.

You think it's cursed?

From what I do know of the deceased brother, it wasn't the gun's fault.

 

[Hugger-4641]

Wanted to add a couple more images to show everyone how nice Moly Resin can look, just had to get to my shop desktop where those photos are. I like it way better than other firearm finishes. Not only does it lay nicely on the surfaces, but you can apply it quite thin where needed, it's very forgiving, it's really durable, and there's no mixing involved; Shake the bottle well, put it in your airbrush or HVLP (I recommend small touch up guns), spray, pour the excess back in the bottle for next time. You can also control the flatness by changing the temperature of the part and/or adjusting air pressure and distance from the part when spraying.

We coat thousands of suppressors, mounts and adapters with it each year. And no, I don't work for Norrell's or get any perks for talking about their product. I just really like it.

View attachment 1121322

View attachment 1121323


A few of the popular color selections (these are Bravo [HUB] converted AAC suppressors):

View attachment 1121324

I will have to look into that. It looks like it might be a good option for filling in those pits and getting back to a smooth surface.

 

[3Crows]

If it had the stock burned off in a house fire the steel may have been affected. Aside from the obvious.

 

[ClemY]

Depends on how much you want to spend in the restoration. The high dollar restore would be to send it to someone like Turnbull. He could probably have it looking better than new.

 

[chicharrones]

If it were me. I'd clean it up, leave the pitting and have the story to add to why it is that way. Won't affect the shooting capability
.

If the chamber and bore look like the exterior, it makes me think the end result will be a wall hanger.

 

[Hugger-4641]

If the chamber and bore look like the exterior, it makes me think the end result will be a wall hanger.

Bore is actually pretty good, I fired it once , it was accurate and ejected fine, it just won't feed cause the mag tube is so damaged. I'll get around to that, but should be simple fix once the follower is extending properly.

 

[chicharrones]

Bore is actually pretty good, I fired it once , it was accurate and ejected fine, it just won't feed cause the mag tube is so damaged. I'll get around to that, but should be simple fix once the follower is extending properly.

That's really good to hear.

 

[hdbiker]

Have it parkerized

 

[ClemY]

Parts are available to replace some of the worst parts, like the inner and outer magazine tubes. Any of these guys who do restoration work could tell you what is available. You could transform it into a nice shooter.

 

[MacAR]

We coat thousands of suppressors, mounts and adapters with it each year.

Do you do them yourself, or is this something a guy can do at home? I have a Star BM in need of a face-lift. So as not to derail the thread, feel free to PM me.

Mac

 

[Obturation]

I'm having trouble viewing the pictures full size. From what I can tell it looks like it needs some help. These guns are priceless to me, there are no more, doubt there will be more. The marlin 39 is a treasure and people that know will pay for any 39 that can be brought back. I have an 1897 & a model '97 which were the predecessor of the 39a, also have a 1957 made 39a that looks like it was made yesterday - I got it during the Obama years in trade for 500 cci minimags that I bought long before anyone heard the name Obama . good trade for me and the guy I got it from cared nothing for that rifle.

My 1897 needs restoration and I need to just bite the bullet and send it off. My model 97 is missing a forearm and a mag latch . I don't shoot either as they're needing help but wouldn't sell either, I'll have them fixed and give each of my daughter's one when they're old enough. My point is that these are the best 22 rifles ever made in my opinion. Fix that gun at your own pace and do it right, his brother kept it for a reason.

 

[MachIVshooter]

Do you do them yourself, or is this something a guy can do at home? I have a Star BM in need of a face-lift. So as not to derail the thread, feel free to PM me.

Mac

I don't think it's derailment, since refinishing is an aspect of this thread.

You can absolutely do moly resin at home, though one of the biggest obstacles for most is being able to abrasive blast, which is an important part of the prep. Other than that, you just need either an air brush or compressor + HVLP spray gun, and a wife who won't mind the house smelling a little off for a few hours after you cure in the oven.

One could try to apply without blasting, but that prep serves two purposes: one, it provides a rougher, cleaner surface for adhesion and two, it blends out any of the very small scuffs and scratches that may show through the enamel. Moly absolutely will not hide blemishes, it is not Krylon. In fact, sometimes I see imperfections during coating that I couldnt during prep and have to clean it off to address them.

It's an extremely durable finish, but just like Cerakote, if the prep isn't good, neither will be the end result, which includes the final cleaning before application and flashing off moisture with heat. I use O'Reilly or Supertech brake cleaner, and flash moisture off with a Mapp gas torch. You can pre-bake to accomplish that, but that tends to cause variation in the finish as thinner areas cool more quickly. Best to only heat the surface, and just enough for it to be totally dry.

 

[MacAR]

I don't think it's derailment, since refinishing is an aspect of this thread.

You can absolutely do moly resin at home, though one of the biggest obstacles for most is being able to abrasive blast, which is an important part of the prep. Other than that, you just need either an air brush or compressor + HVLP spray gun, and a wife who won't mind the house smelling a little off for a few hours after you cure in the oven.

One could try to apply without blasting, but that prep serves two purposes: one, it provides a rougher, cleaner surface for adhesion and two, it blends out any of the very small scuffs and scratches that may show through the enamel. Moly absolutely will not hide blemishes, it is not Krylon. In fact, sometimes I see imperfections during coating that I couldnt during prep and have to clean it off to address them.

It's an extremely durable finish, but just like Cerakote, if the prep isn't good, neither will be the end result, which includes the final cleaning before application and flashing off moisture with heat. I use O'Reilly or Supertech brake cleaner, and flash moisture off with a Mapp gas torch. You can pre-bake to accomplish that, but that tends to cause variation in the finish as thinner areas cool more quickly. Best to only heat the surface, and just enough for it to be totally dry.

Thanks for the info! Looks to be fairly straightforward, but maybe a bit above my equipment. I'm sure there are companies that a fella could send his gun to and have it done though?

Mac

 

[Hugger-4641]

Do you do them yourself, or is this something a guy can do at home? I have a Star BM in need of a face-lift. So as not to derail the thread, feel free to PM me.

Mac

Derail away if you like
Any ideas and info are valuable to me whether I use them on this gun or something else later.

 

[Hugger-4641]

one of the biggest obstacles for most is being able to abrasive blast, which is an important part of the prep.

I've concluded that this one is gonna have to be sand blasted regardless how I finish it .
Here's the barrel after two solid hours of 240grit, 400grit, and steel wool.



Found a Boyd's stock for a 39A and the owner liked it better than the straight stock that came on the 39m, so I'm gonna do a little modification so the lever will fit in this stock.
The forearm is cleaning up nice. Almost got all the dents and rust stains out of it. I think with a little more sanding I may be able to actually match the stain on the stock: