Sahib, the Marlin is a breeze to field strip and clean. You will need a good cleaning rod, 44/45 cal brass/bronze bore brushes, a jag tip, some big patches, an old toothbrush, a quality bore solvent, decent gun oil and a small bottle of STP oil treatment.

Start by disassembling the rifle. Using the lever, draw the bolt halfway back. Undo the lever screw that attaches the lever to the frame and pull the lever out. You can now slide the bolt out the back of the rifle. Note the ejector is contained in a little slot between the bolt and the left side of the receiver. The ejector also has a small projection on it that fits a hole in the receiver and holds the ejector in place.

You can now clean the rifle by the breech. Start by wetting a patch with the solvent and passing it down the barrel from the breech to the muzzle. Let the solvent soak for a minute or two. Attach the brush and wet it with solvent. Stroke it through the barrel from the breech end to the muzzle twenty times. Take a clean dry patch and wipe out the gunk. Repeat. After the barrel is clean pass a oiled patch through the barrel to stop corrosion.

Clean the bolt face and the bolt with solvent and the old toothbrush. With a little solvent on a rag or paper towel, wipe down the lever and any other place you see dirt. Take a q-tip and put a tiny bit of the STP on the head of the q-tip. Apply a tiny bit of the STP to any friction point i.e., the bottom of the bolt, the face of the hammer, the area around the lever screw, you get it. Although not commonly used, the STP is the slickest gun grease I've ever used. A well known gunsmith told me this trick years ago and I've been using it ever since. You only need a tiny bit to make the action feel like a greased eel. It sticks to the part and will not come off unless you wipe it off and a small $3 bottle lasts forever. Works great on auto pistols too!

To reassemble, place the ejector back it its slot through the ejection port, making sure the little projection is in its hole. Hold it there with one finger while you align the bolt and insert it with your other hand. It must run over top of the ejector. This is easier than it sounds. Put the bolt into the halfway position and insert the lever back into its slot in the bolt (you did put a tiny bit of the STP on the end of the lever, right?). Align the lever screw hole and insert the lever screw. Give the whole rifle a quick wipe down.

Viola! Done.

 

Then go back out and blast away! ;D

 

Thanks for that, Tony!!

I was looking for a complete rundown myself!! Marlin guys are sweet!! I saw a similar question on another gun board, and the poster was attacked saying that If'n he didn't know how to properly clean a gun, he shouldn't OWN one!!!

I don't think that kind of attitude helps the "gunownership" brotherhood!

Thanks again

 

I normally just run a boresnake with some 3 in 1 through it. As little as it gets shot (typical deer hunter shoots maybe 5 rounds a year), that works. A spritz of Gun Scrubber down the barrel degreases it before hunting.

 

Thanks for that, Tony!!

I was looking for a complete rundown myself!! Marlin guys are sweet!! I saw a similar question on another gun board, and the poster was attacked saying that If'n he didn't know how to properly clean a gun, he shouldn't OWN one!!!

I don't think that kind of attitude helps the "gunownership" brotherhood!

Thanks again

 

Eli Chaps has been pushing this one as of late and I agree 100%, if your going to tear down your Marlin THIS is the ticket! http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,26786.0.html
It's a good thing to know your firearm. Mr fixit

 

Thank you Tony! This is a great help.

 

Eli Chaps has been pushing this one as of late and I agree 100%, if your going to tear down your Marlin THIS is the ticket! http://www.marlinowners.com/forums/index.php/topic,26786.0.html
It's a good thing to know your firearm. Mr fixit

That's a great post. Thanks.

Sahib, you're welcome.

 

Thanks for that, Tony!!

I was looking for a complete rundown myself!! Marlin guys are sweet!! I saw a similar question on another gun board, and the poster was attacked saying that If'n he didn't know how to properly clean a gun, he shouldn't OWN one!!!

I don't think that kind of attitude helps the "gunownership" brotherhood!

Thanks again

I think he's talking to you David :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*

 

I think he's talking to you David :-* :-* :-* :-* :-*

God's gonna get you for that Danny! ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

Of the handful of thoughtful and insightful posts I've put on here and you pick on THAT one?? OK< OK, let me rephrase my praise of my new "friends"

Marlin guys are enablers that feed the sickness and will never help me break the addiction...

In my day "sweet" was a synonym for cool, awesome, ect... but now I am gonna need to rethink that. haha

Wasn't this post about gun cleaning?

 

....speaking of SWEET, there is an excellent copper solvent by that name. Sweet's 7.62 looks to be a jellied-ammonia that removes copper fouling quite well, and the smell of it will cure what ails ya'. Immediately remove any spills from finished surfaces though!!!

 

Hoppes #9 is more than enough. Break-Free CLP is the oil I use.

 

Of the handful of thoughtful and insightful posts I've put on here and you pick on THAT one?? OK< OK, let me rephrase my praise of my new "friends"

Marlin guys are enablers that feed the sickness and will never help me break the addiction...

In my day "sweet" was a synonym for cool, awesome, ect... but now I am gonna need to rethink that. haha

Wasn't this post about gun cleaning?

Tedak - Sweeeeeeet ;D

Swampman - Hoppes #9 ,,,,don't do copper fouling...

 

I don't worry about copper fouling.

 

No offense Swampman, but the best thing about Hoppe's Number 9 is that it doesn't make your smoke taste too bad if it gets on your fingers.

There are some great bore cleaners out there but you have to go a long way to beat Ed's Red, that cheap simple elixir invented by cast bullet guru C.E. Ed Harris. Tired of paying $14 for a little 4 oz bottle of bore cleaner? Try this:

1 part Dexron II, Automatic Transmission Fluid
1 part Kerosene - deodorized, K1
1 part Mineral Spirits, or may substitute "Stoddard Solvent", (aka "Varsol")
1 part Acetone

I make it up in a one GALLON gas container and it costs, in grossly inflated Canadian dollars, about $14 cdn per gallon. Get everything at a Walmart. This stuff works as good as anything but it doesn't do copper well. It's excellent bore cleaner.

Want to do copper fouling? Check this:

Get a quart/litre of household ammonia (about $3)
Get a bottle of Sunlight dish soap (I like the lemony fresh kind.) Empty 2/3 of the bottle of dish soap and replace with the ammonia. Shake well. The dish soap holds the ammonia on the patch. Ammonia is very thin and will run right off the patch if used by itself.

You'll have to shake it before you use it. Dissolves copper just like Sweet's. Don't use a brass bore brush with this stuff, it'll dissolve it. Stinks like hell, works good and it's very cheap. Soak a patch and run it through. Let sit for a minute. Put a dry patch through. If you see blue, you got copper. Copper turns blue when it dissolves. Repeat until the blue is gone. IMPORTANT: After use, run a clean patch to make sure it's all out and then give it a patch of Ed's Red. Ammonia attracts water and will start your barrel rusting if you don't oil after use, same as Sweets or CR-10.

There you go guys. Cheap effective bore cleaners without being robbed. Give it a try and be surprised.

 

I've been using the same bottle of Hoppes for probably 20 years. I don't know what I'd do with a gallon. Sometimes I just put a little WD-40 on a patch. My bores still look like new.

 

Swampman, We used to use WD40 to clean our guns. Stopped when we figured out it was taking off the bluing.

 

I've been using it since the 1960s with no problem but mostly as a solvent. I'll keep an eye out for problems.

 

I'm partial to Butch's Bore Shine now. I tried it a few years back, and it now fills the role that Hoppes #9 used to have. It works as well as the #9 for carbon and minor leading, but is a good copper solvent too (but not as strong as Sweets). Now I keep some #9 around, just for the nostalgic aroma.....

Tony, you must have had one of those junior-chemist sets when you were a kid?

 

I did! I still play with stuff but it costs more now. Ed's Red is really good stuff. Take a look on the CBA website and see the huge number of satisfied users. Did I mention it's cheap. Maybe that doesn't matter if you only have a few guns but it matters to me. I think I spend half my life cleaning guns. Every time I go to the range the kid fills the back of my SUV with enough ordnance to finish off a Mexican war.

 

But you don't need to clean the bores more than once a year unless your using corrosive ammo or black powder.

 

Haha. Who said I was cleaning them more than once a year? ;D

 

Sahib, the Marlin is a breeze to field strip and clean. You will need a good cleaning rod, 44/45 cal brass/bronze bore brushes, a jag tip, some big patches, an old toothbrush, a quality bore solvent, decent gun oil and a small bottle of STP oil treatment.

Start by disassembling the rifle. Using the lever, draw the bolt halfway back. Undo the lever screw that attaches the lever to the frame and pull the lever out. You can now slide the bolt out the back of the rifle. Note the ejector is contained in a little slot between the bolt and the left side of the receiver. The ejector also has a small projection on it that fits a hole in the receiver and holds the ejector in place.

You can now clean the rifle by the breech. Start by wetting a patch with the solvent and passing it down the barrel from the breech to the muzzle. Let the solvent soak for a minute or two. Attach the brush and wet it with solvent. Stroke it through the barrel from the breech end to the muzzle twenty times. Take a clean dry patch and wipe out the gunk. Repeat. After the barrel is clean pass a oiled patch through the barrel to stop corrosion.

Clean the bolt face and the bolt with solvent and the old toothbrush. With a little solvent on a rag or paper towel, wipe down the lever and any other place you see dirt. Take a q-tip and put a tiny bit of the STP on the head of the q-tip. Apply a tiny bit of the STP to any friction point i.e., the bottom of the bolt, the face of the hammer, the area around the lever screw, you get it. Although not commonly used, the STP is the slickest gun grease I've ever used. A well known gunsmith told me this trick years ago and I've been using it ever since. You only need a tiny bit to make the action feel like a greased eel. It sticks to the part and will not come off unless you wipe it off and a small $3 bottle lasts forever. Works great on auto pistols too!

To reassemble, place the ejector back it its slot through the ejection port, making sure the little projection is in its hole. Hold it there with one finger while you align the bolt and insert it with your other hand. It must run over top of the ejector. This is easier than it sounds. Put the bolt into the halfway position and insert the lever back into its slot in the bolt (you did put a tiny bit of the STP on the end of the lever, right?). Align the lever screw hole and insert the lever screw. Give the whole rifle a quick wipe down.

Viola! Done.

Thanks for this!

 

Sahib0120, If I were you, I would practice taking the bolt and lever out, and removing the stocks maybe 5 times just to get it into your mind so it will always be there.. Think of the old quote "Familiarity breeds Excellence".. It's a good idea to know how your firearm is put together incase something happens. and you need to make a quick fix.. Besides Marlins are pretty easy to take apart.. All they need are a couple of Screwdrivers.. However, I advise the long stick like ones, as opposed to the liquid versions.. Those type of screwdrivers mess with your hand eye co-ordination.