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Posted: 10/22/2025 12:02:28 PM EDT
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I’m picking up a 1950 Marlin 336 SC (35 Rem) this evening that found me at last weekends gun show. It is a pretty clean rifle and the wood is in pretty good shape but I’d still like to clean it up a bit and maybe revitalize its character without restaining it or modifying it drastically. What’s everyone using for such a purpose these days? |
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It depends on the existing finish. If it's an oil finish, I would just apply some boiled linseed oil. I use cheesecloth for applying linseed oil but you can just use an old t-shirt. You could also use 000 or 0000 steel wool to apply the linseed oil. That will smooth out the wood a bit. If it's a shellac or varnish, it's difficult to get any finish into the wood. If you go over a varnished finish lightly with 000 steel wool it will take some of the gloss off and give it more of a matte or semi-gloss finish. If you do this I would probably use some linseed oil to lubricate the steel wool. You'll probably end up wiping off the excess oil since it won't soak into the wood through the hard finish. Go slow and don't get aggressive. (BTW, you can buy boiled linseed oil and 000 at any local hardware store.) |
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Skip the linseed oil and use tung oil. If it's really dry, thin the first coat or by half with denatured alcohol. If it just needs a light coat, don't bother. Wait a few days after applying and wipe any residue off. See then if it requires more. |
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"Every election is a sort of advance auction sale of stolen goods." -H.L. Mencken
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SC, USA
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Old English brand furniture polish, seriously. We sold very high end and custom made furniture. The stuff is incredible. I have saved some pretty rough older furniture with it. You'll be buying it new if you buy it. I would call them and talk to them, tell them the type and color of wood you're working on. They have a dark and a light color. But yeah, I had a friend call me a few years ago with some antique furniture that needed a lot of love. I went over and cleaned the piece, then used the polish ( really it's an oil treatment with polish ). The first time it looked a bit better, but you have to apply it and give it time to soak in. The wood will drink it in if it's dry. You wipe the furniture with a rag coated in it, and you do that until you see the oil no longer soaks in. Once you let it sit a while, say 30 minutes to an hour, and you see it's still wet, take a clean, dry soft cloth and dry the excess. The two bottles I have, the red bottle for the darker wood is from 1969, and the bottle for the light wood is from 1973 or something. The shit is killer. If the wood can be saved, that will save it. |
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Weiman's lemon oil (mostly mineral oil with some lemon oil). I just used it on the 1952 Marliin 336 and it works great. I use it on the fine woods on my guitars, usually the ebony, rosewood, and maple necks/fretboard that aren't sealed with poly or lacquer, including the rosewood on a vintage Gibson which is far more valuable than most stocks on field grade guns. |
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