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Fire-Damaged Marlin 336 Rifle Restored with Blue Wonder Gun Blue

A friend of Joe Waters from Topeka, Kansas, brought over a heavily fire-damaged Marlin 336 rifle to see if there was any hope to restore this family heirloom to its original beauty. The rifle previously belonged to the friend's late grandmother and was damaged in a house fire.

The rifle sustained severe damage from the heat and water. Waters began looking for a solution and settled on Blue Wonder Gun Blue to restore the metal components of the rifle. It makes restoring a gun a breeze!

Fire Damaged Marlin 336 Rifle -- Before

"I settled on Blue Wonder Gun Blue for the fact that it can be multi-layered and blend in the right amount of blue to get a smooth, even finish," Waters told Blue Wonder. "I was not disappointed -- I was really impressed."

Waters explained that he was not sure if the Marlin was too damaged to take the Gun Blue properly so he tried a test product on his H&R 922 revolver.

Below are his before and after photos for the 922:

H&R 922 Revolver Refinished with Blue Wonder Gun Blue

Once he had the technique down for the Blue Wonder Gun Blue, he went to work on his friend's Marlin 336 rifle.

Here are the "before" photos of the rifle:

Fire-Damaged Marlin 336 Rifle -- Before

The Marlin experienced excessive pitting during and after the fire. Waters resorted to old-fashioned elbow grease and sanding to strip the major components of the rifle. For the screws and smaller parts, he utilized the Blue Wonder Blue Remover System.

Photo of the Marlin 336 "in the white":

Marlin 336 Rifle in the White

Once he had the metal properly prepped (most of the work in a gun blue project) he went to work with Blue Wonder Gun Blue. He began layering on multiple coats until he got to the desired darkness and evenness of finish. Once he finished the bluing process, he applied the Blue Wonder Developer and Blue Wonder XFR Lubricant to finish up the job.

Here are the results!

Marlin 336 Rifle Components Refinished with Blue Wonder Gun Blue
Waters refinished the stock and forend with Forneby's Furniture Refinisher. "The owner wanted wood cleaned up and finished but wanted to leave some hint of damage," he explained.
Waters re-assembled the fully restored Marlin 336.
Fully refinished Marlin 336 rifle after severe fire damage
And then, it was off to the range!
Testing the Refinished Marlin 336 Rifle
Waters told Blue Wonder that he spent about two years working on the project in his spare time. Now -- on to the next one!  He is currently working on two shotguns for a friend and a Colt 1903 .32 caliber.

One thought on “Fire-Damaged Marlin 336 Rifle Restored with Blue Wonder Gun Blue

  1. avatar Bobby Shannon says:

    He did an excellent job completing this project. I am sure the products he used was why it turned out so great. I have
    never done any work on metal always wood. I can easily see it would not be an easy job, but well worth the reward upon
    completion.

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