Parkerizing

[nick]

Priming with copper to get that greenish tint, gotta try that out. That would be with the zinc phosphate solution, right?

[Discogodfather]

Priming with copper to get that greenish tint, gotta try that out. That would be with the zinc phosphate solution, right?

It has to be because the Manganese would be too dark to begin with. I'd hate to loose some expensive solution if the copper thing doesn't work.

[pitfighter]

I agree - but it is interesting the blades on two of my M3 daggers are almost the exact light green tint that the receiver and small parts have gone on this - I am sure time and wear and tear have a large part in the dis-coloring process, but interesting all the same.
i'll discuss with one of the pro shops above as they are close to me.

Thanks for the info, guys.

[ColdDeadHands1]

I've got a 1919 I built complete, degreased, blasted, and ready to be parked. Problem is I have no parking equipment or materials. Is there anywhere in the SF Bay area I could take this to get it done?

[kendog4570]

The often-stated green tint from exposure to cosmoline theory is a theory that doesn't have much to back it up. The green tint (particularly seen on Remington 03-A3's) was due to a treatment that would be difficult to perform today due to EPA and OSHA regulations.

This.
The original process involved a chromatic salt or acid after-dip that put a greenish tint to the parts. I don't recall the exact name of the chemical or compound, but it was called red chromate or red dichromate and the parts were immersed in an after rinse at approximately 180 degrees. Not much higher temps with this solution and the bath would start to let off carcinogenic vapors in the steam. Not good for the body.
Some of the WW2 finishes could also be iron phosphate as well as zinc or manganese. Iron would have a much lighter gray tint.

[pitfighter]

Thanks Kendog - that will likely be the color we are looking to replicate -

Sounds like the wonderful gold color they used to put on BSA engines, pretty much killed everyone that performed the process, not immediately, but slowly.

[ar15barrels]

I just ran into this thread while searching for my name so please excuse the necropost...

How about some brown parkerizing?
I have a special batch of brown parkerizing chemical.



And before you ask, it came out of the park tank just like that.
No special pre-treat, post-treat, paint or photoshop...

[Sailormilan2]

I have parked several rifles, Garands and M1 Carbines, and one pistol frame. I use Radocy Zinc Park for the grey, and I have made my own black park and have used a solution I got off eBay. Radocy works very well. The homemade park was so so.
One thing I learned to do, was to thoroughly degrease, and I mean thoroughly, before bead blasting. My system was to boil the part in a mixture of Dawn dish soap and TSP. Then I bead blast, and then reboil in degreaser.
Since I have no SWMBO around, I do my parking on my kitchen stove. For smaller jobs like pistols I have a stainless 2 gallon pot, and for rifles I have a homemade tank made out of stainless steel. You can get a stainless soup or stock pot cheep at Walmart, Winco, etc.
Many Garands with a serial number under 2.4 million will often have a "lead dipped" heel. Which shows up better under grey park. Here is one of min. I was runinng out of my parkerizing mix, so the solution was a little weak, so the park is lighter than usual.

[Capybara]

You win the Internet Disco! Even though this is a necro post, what an informative, useful and well researched recommendation. Thanks!

I do my own, the secret to success for me was to spend a lot of money on the setup. About three years ago I was building an MP5. I bought some cheap solution on ebay, got a propane tank with some camp stove burners and some meat thermometers and went to work, never had done any parking before.

Disaster! I lost the gun in the solution, it was completely screwed up. Really a bummer to loose my first MP5 build, but I did practically everything wrong.

My old post about the experience:

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=827965&highlight=parkerizing

These are the secrets to doing a good job:

1) Use distilled water ONLY
2) You have to bead blast before, the metal has to be opened up otherwise no etching can occur.
3) Temp control has to be very accurate, around 185-195 degrees. Having a meat thermo and a burner was not working for me. When you dip the metal in there is also a big temp drop, so you have to compensate. More metal, more of a dip.
4) Helps to have a rinse tank
5) helps to have a pre-dip tank that can heat up your metal to prevent the temp drop when you go to the park solution
6) ONLY buy good park solution, I only trust Lauer now

Spent around $500 for this setup, a very cool guy on GB and ebay who is a gun guy sells these tanks. Super expensive but electronic temp controls and really easy to drain, just a pleasure not to have to deal with propane.



Bead blast with some glass bead, then into the Lauer solution. I got grey and black, and they both come out very nice, grey is a dark grey and black is pitch black. I also have some Lauer super black which is a pre-dip for using with the black solution. It makes the park a very deep black, you just throw it in the cold solution and then into the park solution. Lauer sells an oil you spray on after rinsing as well, works great.

I've done tons of parts and it works very well, it was expensive to set up but now its a breeze. I did a MP5k, a HK33, and tons of little parts here and there.

You can also do tiny parts with a microwave, haven't tried it yet but I hear it works very well.

[pitfighter]

Yes, a brilliantly informative post, thank you, Disco.

I decided against a refinish - the weld is hidden by the wrist of the stock, unless you are looking for it - it ended up very subtle without much discoloration, and the original finish is so indicative of what this rare rifle has been through.
Guns aren't cars, they don't always benefit from a restoration.

[ColdDeadHands1]

Guys, I found the guy Disco was referring to on ebay. In the item description he referred to his website for even better pricing and free shipping. Here it is:

https://www.bigjimsgun.com/product/electric-parkerizing-tank/

[Shiloh]

Here's a quick skinny on parking.

A) DON'T BEADBLAST THE PARTS! Bead blasting doesn't penetrate the upper surfaces as well as it should and will give the gun a look as if your solution is weak. Use aluminum oxide (about 100 grit) to blast the parts down to bare metal then, without touching the parts with bare hands or soiled rags, place them into the properly warmed solution. You need the fresh metal for the chemicals to begin their etching process. Any foreign debris will result in spotty work and it will show.

B) Different metal types will produce different shades of color. Most of the time the color will come out like battleship grey. Sometimes they come out darker and sometimes lighter. Greener tints ARE due to chemical changes when oils are introduced to the part. This however doesn't happen right away, but instead over time such as many month to years. If you are looking for the "Black Park", you still use the same solution along with a pre dip. the pre dip is another solution mixed with muriatic acid which you place the part in for just a couple seconds then transfer to your normal park solution. Most vintage parts are dipped in manganese.

C) You don't have to have a crazy expensive set up to make it work. If you can find someone to build you a couple of stainless steel tanks, get a cheap burner from a fella who doesn't want to deep fry turkeys anymore, either make or but your blasting cabinet, aluminum oxide and get a compressor, get your chemicals, that should take care of the bulk of the cost. The rest will be nickles and dimes to cover other little parts to plug the barrel and such.

If you are only doing one gun it may not be worth the effort and may be cheaper just to send it out.

Here is what I've been using:

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/parkerizing/parkerizing-supplies-only-prod24778.aspx

If you want something blackened:

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools-supplies/metal-prep-coloring/parkerizing/zinc-parkerizing-pre-dip-blackener-prod57397.aspx

It's always interesting to learn other techniques too.

[Discogodfather]

That looks excellent, a slight brown patina is actually one of the most rust inhibitive finishes, it just takes 50 years of the right care to get it. That specific iron oxide is tough as nails. It makes the metal stronger too, even high quality chrome moly sheet is still ridiculously soft after you park and paint.

[Enfield47]

That looks nice Pit, any pics of the whole gun yet?

[GunKraut]

Yes - so, I finally got the parts kit in hand.

It looked horrible at first glance (which was why i started this thread), but a close inspection, an overnight Kroil soak (my new best friend) - a cotton swab and some patience, and the dirt and age pretty much lifted off.

The finish is better than expected and I will not be redoing any park.
When this goes semi-only I'll leave the weld scars as evidence of it's rebuild, they are right at the back of the receiver.