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Ben Marauder Finish

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R

Red2x4

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Nov 16, 2017
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TX
I'm interested in refinishing my Ben Marauder. I love the gun, shoots great, but the finish on the stock and metal is really poor. Both scratch really easily. I'm going to start by refinishing the wood stock. The Crosman website says the stock is made out of a hardwood but doesn't get anymore specific. Does anyone know what it is? Beech?

Can anyone tell me about the finish of the steel? The barrel is smooth. How is the black finish applied? Is it hot blued? 

The air reservoir is not smooth, some kind of sand blast?

Anything you can tell me would be good to know before I start.

For the wood refinish I'm thinking about using Birchwood Casey products to strip and finish.
 
As far as the stock-go for it-I think they are Beech and there are some posts here on refinishing Beech stocks. 
As far as the metalwork, you may want to consider what you're getting into-I think the air tube is Parkerized -from Google

"Parkerizing, bonderizing, phosphating, or phosphatizing is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of a chemical phosphate conversion coating." 

To refinish the air tube you will need to completely disassemble the gun, sand and polish the air tube to a mirror finish, and then reblue. The shroud is aluminum, not sure what you can do with it to make the finish more durable. If you are dead set on polishing and bluing the air tube, you might just buy a replacement from Crosman (around $40) do the work on it and then switch it out with the old one. 
I assume you really love your Marauder, but unless you just want to enjoy doing the work for it's own sake you may be happier with a more nicely finished gun like an Air Arms.
 
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I've refinished several stocks, both Marauder and Disco. I hate the shape and balance, I usually thin the stock by running it thru a table saw. This reduces the overall width, then I re-run it against the fence taking the belly out of the stock leaving just enough meat to cover the gauge. This reduces a lot of weight and slims the profile down. A round over bit removes more weight in the foreend. On a couple I ran the table saw blade within inches of the gauge, then finished with a chisel and sand paper. The wood itself is usually uneventful, and rather plain. If you choose to darken it, a Walnut, Jacobean, or Ebony can do it nicely. I did a couple of Disco's with a boiled linseed oil, opting for the natural blonde wood. They came out different not interesting. The grain tends to be non descript, I finished several resin cast doors, using a variety of gel stains that brought more attention to the finished product. Joe Rhea did some stocks using the different stains, and to bring more contrast he lit a few on fire. Another nice trick is to hit the grain with a wire wheel, this removes the soft wood in between the grain lines. Highlighting this in a darker shade, then lightening shades with additional coats brings depth, but the weathered layered finish does not look good on a gun stock. In short your starting with cheap non descript grain, that in the past 100 years has not found it's way into he furniture market.
 
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"guod123"I've refinished several stocks, both Marauder and Disco. I hate the shape and balance, I usually thin the stock by running it thru a table saw. This reduces the overall width, then I re-run it against the fence taking the belly out of the stock leaving just enough meat to cover the gauge. This reduces a lot of weight and slims the profile down.
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I did mine with a disc sander, a rasp and then hand sanding. Took over a pound off. Then "conditioner, stain and Tru-Oil
85d3c4af4acc57113b0b336338a6044b.jpg
6e82763ed28026ce99287a93e2a18628.jpg
 
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That white bootline on the butt pad sets the stock off, I drilled out a 1 3/8" hole in back of the comb put finger wells and a slice of birds eye maple. I cut the forend shorter also and put a slice there. I for the life of me can't get the factory butt pad off. It's been collecting dust. I don't feel like investing in a high end butt pad the Marauders don't see much action. That Tru oil looks great in a photo, I know the product is WAY better looking up close, nice work.
 
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I'm glad I asked, thanks for your input. 

JohnL57, no I'm not excited about refinishing the metal. I'll have to come up with another solution. I don't want to mess with that finish on the air tube. Birchwood makes a product to touch up aluminum. I'll get that instead of stripping the shroud and starting from scratch.
I am excited about the wood working.

guod123, Can you share some pictures of your Marauder, down the barrel line so I can see the final shape of your stock? It sounds great. I was originally just thinking about refinishing it. I hadn't considered that I might lighten it as well. It is a rather heavy gun.
 
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​red2x4 I have a daisey 120 bb that I just refinished ,Same beech and similiar color of the mrod (yuk). I sanded the stock with 320 grit then 400.I used minwax english chestnut 223 stain- two coats,(lightly sand between coats with fine steel wool) it has a slight red tint to the color. Then applied birchwood casey true oil 2-3 coats Iightly sand in between coats with fine steel wool. When its done it feels as smooth as a baby's butt.I also extended the stock & added a slip on black butt extender from wall mart.As you can see from BigTinBoat's pictures ( by the way nice JOB) it transforms the stock & brings out the different colors in the grain. As far as your barrel & tube ,I have a synrod that has camo film on it ,that I'm changing out to carbon fiber tape. O'riellys carries this for about $8 2"&6"x6' long. Just remember what ever finish you use, it will always ding or scratch. When you do get it done it'll probably be a wall hanger! I would have used the conditioner but it was out of stock at the time. Best of luck with the transformation Darell
 
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"BigTinBoat"
"guod123"I've refinished several stocks, both Marauder and Disco. I hate the shape and balance, I usually thin the stock by running it thru a table saw. This reduces the overall width, then I re-run it against the fence taking the belly out of the stock leaving just enough meat to cover the gauge. This reduces a lot of weight and slims the profile down.
Click to expand...
I did mine with a disc sander, a rasp and then hand sanding. Took over a pound off. Then "conditioner, stain and Tru-Oil
85d3c4af4acc57113b0b336338a6044b.jpg
6e82763ed28026ce99287a93e2a18628.jpg
Click to expand...

Wow that looks really great! I sure wish my Gen 1 Marauder looked that nice. I've had it since around 2010 I think. It has been through the wringer, but I still love that gun.

Crusher
 
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