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Stats Shooter · January 14, 2018, 12:48 AM

I have a newish Marlin 1895 GBL with Skinner sights that I really like.
Last week I had it sitting on a table at the range in the case but the latch wasn't locked.....so it bounced off the concrete into the rocks. Scratches galore on the barrel and tube but fortunately the wood and everything behind the barrel was spared.

These barrels on the GBL aren't blued, but have a semigloss black finish. I decided to duracoat it with HK semi gloss as it matches the original best (so I thought). However, the receiver, lever, hammer etc are all blued.
I did a good job prepping and taping and the duracoat job was looking good. Then, as it was drying, it slipped dragging the barrel on my bench and ruining the paint job. And I was out of paint as I had coated the mag tube, forearm metal piece, front sight ramp and post with 4 coats.

Frustrated and not happy with how the HK black looked, I stripped it all off, every component I had painted. To get it off I used stripper and a scratch pad. By the time I was done, I had taken the barrel, tube, and all the other metal parts down to nearly bare metal.

I had some 44/40 laying around and thought "what the heck?" I laid down a coat of bluing on the barrel and grabbed a rag to wipe it off. The rag was halfway soaked with break cleaner that i thought was water. As i wiped the barrel it made it apper glossy with an antique type "distressed". It made it look like somethingout of a western magazine with spots on the barrel where it had rubbed on a saddle or something. I laid down one more coat of bluing followed by brake cleaner again and it darkened it a little but still had the distressed look.

I went ahead and did it to all the other parts like the mag tube, ramp, hood, forearm retainer and hood. Then oiled everything up and reassembled.

It actually looks better than new now as the the barrel and tube are blued as is the receiver, lever, hammer, et,.
It looks like it's older, but with a glossy aged look.

It was pure dumb luck as a result of two mistakes, and I couldn't have done a better job creating an aged look if it tried.....another example of being lucky is better than being good.

January 14, 2018, 12:48 AM	#1
Stats Shooter Senior Member Join Date: August 26, 2016 Location: North Dakota Posts: 1,636	Its always better to be lucky than good I have a newish Marlin 1895 GBL with Skinner sights that I really like. Last week I had it sitting on a table at the range in the case but the latch wasn't locked.....so it bounced off the concrete into the rocks. Scratches galore on the barrel and tube but fortunately the wood and everything behind the barrel was spared. These barrels on the GBL aren't blued, but have a semigloss black finish. I decided to duracoat it with HK semi gloss as it matches the original best (so I thought). However, the receiver, lever, hammer etc are all blued. I did a good job prepping and taping and the duracoat job was looking good. Then, as it was drying, it slipped dragging the barrel on my bench and ruining the paint job. And I was out of paint as I had coated the mag tube, forearm metal piece, front sight ramp and post with 4 coats. Frustrated and not happy with how the HK black looked, I stripped it all off, every component I had painted. To get it off I used stripper and a scratch pad. By the time I was done, I had taken the barrel, tube, and all the other metal parts down to nearly bare metal. I had some 44/40 laying around and thought "what the heck?" I laid down a coat of bluing on the barrel and grabbed a rag to wipe it off. The rag was halfway soaked with break cleaner that i thought was water. As i wiped the barrel it made it apper glossy with an antique type "distressed". It made it look like somethingout of a western magazine with spots on the barrel where it had rubbed on a saddle or something. I laid down one more coat of bluing followed by brake cleaner again and it darkened it a little but still had the distressed look. I went ahead and did it to all the other parts like the mag tube, ramp, hood, forearm retainer and hood. Then oiled everything up and reassembled. It actually looks better than new now as the the barrel and tube are blued as is the receiver, lever, hammer, et,. It looks like it's older, but with a glossy aged look. It was pure dumb luck as a result of two mistakes, and I couldn't have done a better job creating an aged look if it tried.....another example of being lucky is better than being good.