The coffee can shotgun restoration

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.22LR
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:24 pm
PostPosted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:22 am
Got a new shipment of Brownells Baking lacquer so I was able to spray and bake the receiver and lever. I had the time so I spent it doing more to smooth out the receiver and get rid of the pock marks. It turned out pretty well. It will look even better with two coats of paste wax to give it some shine. Im almost ready to put the gun back together. The stock is nearly finished getting coats of tung oil.

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.22LR
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 22, 2014 8:24 pm
PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 6:37 am
Last night was a banner night for this old shotgun. A few things of note took place. First of all since this gun was destroyed by a raccoon and it pitted the receiver and lever (and raised hell on the wood) I opted to mark the history of the gun into that same receiver. I was originally going to mark both sides but opted for just one side.

I masked off an area and sprayed it with flat, white spray paint.

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Then I placed tape over the paint and drew in the image I wanted on the receiver. I painted the receiver white so I could see the pencil lines.

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I used a fine pointed diamond bit in my dremmel to take away the black baking lacquer and shine up the aluminum underneath.

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Then I peeled away the tape and washed away the white paint with acetone leaving the tribute to the masked bandit etched into the metal.

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I assembled all the metal parts and attached the finished wood. For now I have the pitted barrel on the gun just for the pictures.

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The stippling worked out very well.

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The cracked stock is repaired and looks a bit better than before.

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This gun has come a long way from the coffee can.

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Also last night I won an Ebay Auction for a replacement barrel for this gun in the buckbuster configuration (with front and rear rifle sights) So this old gun can once again take to the deer woods. (once I recondition the barrel and reblue it) The barrel set me back $128 but since I got the gun for nothing, It all works out in the end. Here are the images from the Ebay Auction.

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With this one done its time to move onto a gun with some sentimental value to me. A 1940 Winchester model 37. Its my father’s gun and the first shotgun I ever fired. Time to start a new restoration thread for this rusty mule kicker.

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.270 WIN
Posts: 429
Joined: Sat Jan 21, 2012 8:50 am
PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 4:18 pm
Very well done.
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.270 WIN
Posts: 293
Joined: Sun Nov 25, 2012 8:44 am
PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 5:29 pm
Some of my higher end single shot BPCR rifles have a matte finish. One I had done with an old fashioned rust blue.

The company hits them with a very very mild abrasive, then goes over them with a soft wire wheel before bluing.

With the old family gun being a bit pitted (from your picture above) this type of finish would look exceptionally well and still be "blued steel".

Case coloring would hide any pits you couldn't get out of the receiver and looks good with a matte finished barrel.

It would end up top shelf also. Just some thoughts......

This is what they look like.

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.270 WIN
Posts: 452
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2011 10:07 pm
PostPosted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 6:44 pm
drcook wrote:
During that time I cut a few black and white plastic spacers to match the plastic butt plate size and hole spacing. Then I attached the spacers and butt plate to the stock and sanded the old finish off the stock and down to the size of the original butt plate. This shaped the black and white spacers. The gun didnt originally have black and white spacers but I like how they dress up the look of a gun so I added them.


That is a nice look ! Can you detail the material and the source ? I think I will use your technique on my next gun I do. Did you think this up or see it somewhere.

If you thought this up, I think we should call it the DIY_Guy pattern !!!


On Marlin 336 rifles, one of the primary areas of restoration are the white spacers under the grip cap and the butt plates. Those spacers tend to shrink to nothing over the years, just like on my otherwise mint 336 SC .35 Remington. The two most common sources for replacement material are the tops of white 5 gallon buckets or bleach jugs.

I'm thinking some of these plastic spacers mixed with some other color of some homemade micarta!

OP fantastic work!

Copper BB
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Apr 13, 2014 1:41 pm
Location: Alaska
PostPosted: Sun Apr 13, 2014 4:11 pm
You could take the old barrel and have it plated with a titanium or Scandium, for strength. Have a carbon fiber insert with a SS barrel and make a 28Ga or even a 22lr Then you could have 2x the fun. Carbon fiber has come a long way. Awesome project though.
Live life to its fullest, for time is but a fleeting moment!!!!
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