Polishing the action of my Marlin Lever action

M

micksis86

New member
I wanna do some polishing of the action of my marlin 1894 just to slick up up the action a bit. I've read alot of info and i'm confident of doing it without too much trouble.

However i'm wondering what the best medium is to use for polishing i've read places that suggest 400grit wet 'n dry paper. Any other suggestions or tips to do with the job?
 
question.

Not familiar with that model so I must ask is it a Brass action or a Steel action?
It would seem that any sand paper would leave lines, so if the finish you are looking for is a mirror finish try polishing it on a buffing wheel with the correct type of buffing compound. You will find it will take off blued finish and small imperfections in the surface.

Hope this is of some help
 
I think he's referring to the internal parts of the action. I would use a fine stone, and only go to wet sandpaper (mounted on a really flat surface, chunk of polished granite sample works great) if you see the stone isn't doing the job because the ridges are too big. Using sand paper free hand it's very easy to round over corners that aren't supposed to be rounded, and having to add shims where none were needed before because you took off too much material to get that machining mark out.
 
This is what you should use:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=16625/Product/ARKANSAS_STONE_SET

Not cheap, but you can use them for the rest of your life. Keep the stone oiled.

You can do it with OILED sandpaper stretched over a file, but believe me after you've had the sandpaper tear & slip a few times the Arkansas stones will be worth every penny.

This is NOT an activity where if 2 strokes are good, then 4 strokes are better and 10 strokes is the ultimate, so you should use 20 strokes. Stoning is in effect putting years of wear on your parts and you want to do it slowly and right. The idea behind using a stone is to knock off the high spots while removing the minimum amount of steel. That's all you want to do. Resist the temptation to stone some more to make the surface "perfect".
 
Lop a couple coils off the mainspring and it will do wonders.

Plus a new spring is much cheaper and easier to procure then a new bolt, receiver or hammer :rolleyes:

Your best bet is to just use the gun more.
 
Poor Man's Action Job

Most owners of new Marlins would be surprised, and benefit, at/from the results of a few night's simple homework, while watching the boob tube, whatever.

After ensuring the rifle & magazine are both empty, apply a thin coating of FINE valve grinding compound (diluted with oil) to the bolt channel and sides of the lever tip (inside the bolt slot).

Cycle the action constantly for a few hours on/off each evening, or until you drive your family crazy - whichever comes first.

When done, clean out ALL the compound with kerosene, relube the action, and give it a try.

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