I have a Rem .22lr Speedmaster that has taken a nasty scratch to the receiver. But the receiver is not blued, rather painted with some blackish substance. What is it? More importantly, what should I do? I was thinking of having it bead blasted clean and then treating the surface.

What do you all think?

I can't tell you what kind of coating remington uses, but if it were me. I would get a spray can of Brownells Baking Lacquer or Gun-kote, sand, paint the receiver and then bake it in the oven.( wait until your wife is not home )
They will both give a tough good looking finish. I did a Winchester 94 receiver with the Gun-Kote and it came out great.
Just my 2 cents worth. Dale

I just refinished a Speedmaster. I stripped the receiver and used Brownells Baking Laquer. Simple, easy, and looks great. I used paint stripper and the old finish came right off. Rinse and scrub with cold water right away so the metal isn't affected by the stripper.
Good luck.