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Mar-Shield finish

22K views 55 replies 30 participants last post by  Dave Bulla 
#1 ·
I saw the Mar-Shield finish today for the 1st time on a few newer 336's. Good gawd it was fugly. What the hale were they thinkin??? Of course I thought it looked better than the laminate finish XLR I saw.... I much prefer the finish on the older guns. I guess I'm old school and set in my ways.... ;D
 
#2 ·
Yep, looks like sprayed on thinned brown paint IMO, give me a nice clear finish on a piece of walnut anyday. If I were to buy a new one the first thing to go would be the finish. Mr fixit
 
#3 ·
Even back in the early 70's the Marshield finish was ghastly. I guess when you spray on the finish that's how it's going to look. I much prefer the ones I have refinished. Of course other gun makers have had some ghastly finishes over the years, as well.
 
#4 ·
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Ghastly is an understatement, Hal, but you must admit it is tough and durable yet easily repaired when scratched. For a beautiful finish, nothing can compare to a good hand rubbed oil finish. So one must choose, tough or beauty. All depends on how the gun will be used.

.
 
#6 ·
The Mar shield on my336SS and 1985GS Don't look to bad. I know I could put on A better finish but afraid to screw up the checkering. Mabye after A few dings I will get my courage up and put on A proper finish.
 
#54 ·
Let me know when you do and how to get that stuff off easily. I actually am intrigued at how the stock is going to look on my BL 336 after going with a dark walnut stain. I too am concerned about the checkering and screwing it up. Maybe a call to Marlin is in order ? :tee:
 
#7 ·
LT, you are quite correct, the Marshield finish is UGLY. It is also very cheap to apply and that is why it is used. A nice hand rubbed oil finish would be nice but then the price would be outragious. Refinishing our marlins is part of Marlinitis. I know my new 444 has walnut stock and fore end, but plain grain and the Marshield makes it worse. Someday I'll strip the old finish off and put on a hand rubbed oil finish, that will highlight any grain there and be very nice. Y'all take care, John.
 
#8 ·
Gaterskiner said:
The Mar shield on my336SS and 1985GS Don't look to bad. I know I could put on A better finish but afraid to screw up the checkering. Mabye after A few dings I will get my courage up and put on A proper finish.
What exactly is a "better" or "proper" finish? As I said, the Mar-shield is tough and durable. It's also very easily repaired. What are you going to use that is more durable, repairable, and care free? Pretty it is not, so do you want a beautiful safe queen or an ugly hunting rifle that can take abuse? ???
 
#9 ·
Keep in mind that Mar-Shield is waterproof. Oil finishes aren't. Also keep in mind that a stock refinish hurts the resale value of your gun.
 
#11 ·
Sportster said:
Also keep in mind that a stock refinish hurts the resale value of your gun.
I think I'd have to disagree.........Althought in some cases you are correct........... If done properly with oils, sealer and wax, I'd not ever complain about a refinished stock on a rifle I was going to use in the field. I have a few refinished stocks that don't appear to be refinished.

Tom
NRA LIFE
 
#12 ·
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I agree with Tomray, correctly done refinish does not hurt resale. An incorrectly applied finish, however, can ruin resale value.

Good Old Boy:
Any scratch or ding that can be removed without changing the contour of the stock can be repaired. Sand out the offending defect, completing the sanding with very fine paper. then apply a couple of coats of Minwax Wipe-on Poly. Done. I use clear satin polyurethane an it matches the Mar-shield very well. So far I have not found a stock that required stain, just the poly.

.
 
#13 ·
As soon as I'm done turkey hunting in a few weeks I'm going to refinish mine. I already bought a fresh can of Minwax Antique oil. I'm really itching to do this, when I take the rifle out in the sunlight I can see that the wood will have some character to it.
 
#14 ·
Try listing a gun on Gunbroker and put "stock has been refinished" in the comments section and see what happens. I wouldn't use sandpaper on a stock. I have two really nice stocks that have been ruined using sandpaper.
 
#15 ·
Sportster said:
Try listing a gun on Gunbroker and put "stock has been refinished" in the comments section and see what happens. I wouldn't use sandpaper on a stock. I have two really nice stocks that have been ruined using sandpaper.
You are correct, if sandpaper is not used with great care it can ruin a stock. On the other hand, sandpaper or other abrasive material must be used to remove deep scratches in the finish to make repairs.

.
 
#16 ·
JBledsoe said:
Sportster said:
Try listing a gun on Gunbroker and put "stock has been refinished" in the comments section and see what happens. I wouldn't use sandpaper on a stock. I have two really nice stocks that have been ruined using sandpaper.
You are correct, if sandpaper is not used with great care it can ruin a stock. On the other hand, sandpaper or other abrasive material must be used to remove deep scratches in the finish to make repairs.

.

that may very well be true, however in a lot of cases the dent or scratch will rise quite considerably if it is steamed first. Even a deep scratch will come up to a point and if it is that deep, sanding and feathering would be required. If you have a dent or scratch try a damp cloth and the wifes' iron set on a high temp or wet the area and use a heat gun/ hair dryer, be careful not to get to close to the wood as the heat gun will burn the wood. Mr fixit
 
#17 ·
I always thought that Mar-Shield® finish was a spray on laquer, or similar. My 70's era 782 is shiny, and my 2009 M39A is flat. Still, if the literature is correct, it is on all my Marlins, birch and walnut stocks...
I am confused. ???
 
#19 ·
Sportster said:
It is polyurethane.
I figured it was some kind of polyurethane, but what is giving all the new Marlins that brown color? Is this a tint? Tomray, do you know what is in the stuff? I think it looks ghastly. A clear finish over the walnut stocks, like in days gone by, would at least look like real wood.
 
#21 ·
We are talking about $300 guns for the most part. You wont lose much if anything by refinishing one unless you ruin it. I'v always been told the Marshield is polyurethane & its applied like they do with cars now with static electricity.
Not sure why some newer ones are chocolate looking now & some arent. My MX is chocolaty but I kinda like it. I'v seen some look like brown shoe polish was smeared on them first.

Anyway theres nothing easier than repairing an oil finish. You just rub in another coat. Poly you need to sand because its all on top of the wood and can chip or even if scratched theres depth in the finish involved. I like the wipe on poly to an extent but mostly for ease of application. For the most part I dont like the look of polyurethane finishes on gunstocks.
 
#22 ·
I fix Mar-Shield all the time with Minwax Tungoil Finish. Todays $300.00 gun is tomorrow's $3000.00 gun unless it's been refinished of course.
 
#23 ·
I don't think a run of the mill 336 will ever hit $3000 in my lifetime. There's just too many of them and they were not an expensive gun to begin with. And in my experience, a beat up original 336 will bring less at a gun show than a tastefully refinished one.

I also have not found the Marshield finish to be all that durable. It was worn off and chipped off all over the place on my Glenfield. When I got it you could take your fingernail and scrape the remaining Marshield off with ease. See picture below. This is also typical of many older Marlins I have seen. And on top of that, it's ugly, so I'm not a fan of it.

Think of it this way Sportster, all of us out here who enjoy refinishing our Marlins are just helping drive the price of your original Marshield finished ones up! The fewer original guns, the better for you! In the business world, we call this a "win/win" scenario... ;)

 
#24 ·
There is no doubt that the Marshield is tough and durable. It does what it is intended to do very well. There is some tinting added to the polyurethane - has to be. Here are photos of a stock with factory Marshield, the same stock stripped clean, and again, the same stock refinished with a hand rubbed oil finish.

The oil finish that I do is {reasonably} water proof, easily repaired, and certainly adds value to the firearm. The stocks on the 100+ year old firearms that I have are all oil finished and the luster that the wood acquires over that period of time certainly adds to their value as well.
 

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#25 ·
Actually in today's dollars, Marlins are cheaper than when I bought my 336 RC in 1966. I paid $88.00 for that gun then. Using the Consumer Price Index and translating that to 2010 dollars that would equate to $581.62 today. I seriously doubt that you can get that for a run of the mill 336 today. I think the 336 C is selling for at least $100 less than that. So unless you have some special run of a gun, you aren't going to hurt the resale. I could probably get $350 for my 336 C which would translate to $52.96 in 1966 dollars, so I would loose $35.00 on the deal!!

If you could buy a 336 C today for $450.00, that would have been $68.09 in 1966, so the guns are actually cheaper today!
 
#26 ·
Sportster said:
I fix Mar-Shield all the time with Minwax Tungoil Finish. Todays $300.00 gun is tomorrow's $3000.00 gun unless it's been refinished of course.
Bullcrap. ;D Show me ANY original regular production 336 worth $3000. The only ones worth even close to $1000 have been customized. Besides, if you "fix" one with tung oil its not original anymore. Marlin will refinish them for you if you like. :)
 
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