Any simple way to give my 1911 a matte finish/coating?

--Terry--

--Terry--

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Hi guys,

I like my Norinco 1911, but one thing has been bugging me: I hate its shiny glossy finish. Could anybody tell me whether there is a simple way to DIY a nice matte coating or finish on the gun so it looks like the Springfield in the lower picture?

I wonder whether there is any chemical that I can buy to use at home to make it happen. Any suggestions and detailed step-by-step instructions?

But don't tell me to spray paint it....

Thanks in advance for any ideas.

Finish of the Norinco:
Norinco%201911A1%20%202.jpg



The matte finish I hope to get:
gi1911.jpg
 
Disassemble it, and get it glass-bead blasted by someone who knows what they're doing. If they're good at "discretionary bead-blasting" then you'll have exactly that.

-M
 
Thanks.

So the matte finish does not come from the coating, but comes from the blasted metal surface? The Nork looks glossy because its metal surface is too flat? I did not know this....

One more question: What kind of people/business have glass bead blast equipments? Could anybody recommend a service that I could use in B.C.?

Thanks again for the help.
 
Blead blasting is sorta like sand blasting... except you avoid the bad pitting issues. Parkerizing or spray and bake is painting, personally, I'd do the latter, no real reason why though.
 
Bead blast with glass, or if you want it even more rough with aluminum oxide 120 grit or 80 grit. Then clean with Acetone and parkerize. The parkerizing is really easy, here's a link to a Canadian supplier.

http://pjsproducts.com/
 
I found a company that you could do glass bead blasting by yourself. It is U-Blast in Langley, B.C., but unfortunately they do not do any metal finishing.

home2.jpg


But after I did more reading, it seems to me that bluing or parkerizing alone could remove the shiny look of the metal and give it a matte finish. Is this true?

And, many people say that cold bluing is not durable and is not rust resistant. How less rust resistant is cold bluing compared to factory bluing? Could anybody let me know a little more about this?
 
cold bluing is a waste of money.
If you can find someone out your way that uses gun kote they could do it in flat OD green for you.
This is what it looks like.
ETA..the owner of this rifle wanted the gold trigger. I would have done it in flat black myself.
BAR1.jpg
 
Email me for some pics of my NP29 Norc 9mm. They are the before and after pics. I bead blasted and then using PJproducts Radocy Parkerizing solution, I parkerized the NP29 that same night. Wow!! Was I ever tickled and impressed ! My NP29 is now a keeper. Like you, I don't like that cheezy factory blued finish, which happened to just fly off at the first pass of the bead blaster.

Cheers,
Barney
 
Hungry said:
Email me for some pics of my NP29 Norc 9mm. They are the before and after pics. I bead blasted and then using PJproducts Radocy Parkerizing solution, I parkerized the NP29 that same night. Wow!! Was I ever tickled and impressed ! My NP29 is now a keeper. Like you, I don't like that cheezy factory blued finish, which happened to just fly off at the first pass of the bead blaster.

Cheers,
Barney
Click to expand...

Post the pics, I'd love to see it.
 
--Terry-- said:
I found a company that you could do glass bead blasting by yourself. It is U-Blast in Langley, B.C., but unfortunately they do not do any metal finishing.

home2.jpg


But after I did more reading, it seems to me that bluing or parkerizing alone could remove the shiny look of the metal and give it a matte finish. Is this true?

And, many people say that cold bluing is not durable and is not rust resistant. How less rust resistant is cold bluing compared to factory bluing? Could anybody let me know a little more about this?
Click to expand...

HOT DAMN!!
Thanks!!! That totally kicks ass!!

If I were you, I'd go here, blast your stuff (maybe don't tell them what you are blasting) then paint it flat black ala Armacoat :) (I've used their paint and it's very easy as long as you have a compressor - paint guns are cheap at princess auto (under $10))
 
A low cost sandblasting gun can be bought from Princess Auto, etc. They also sell bags of glass beads and other media. Blasting can be done without a cabinet, just use a mask, goggles, gloves, etc. Media will be lost, of course, which could be reused in a cabinet. Should be able to get access to an air compressor. A quality cold blue, Oxphoblue for example, applied to the clean, freshly blasted surface will produce a rather decent matte black finish. Blasted parts put through a hot blue tank will receive a superior matte blue black finish. Radocy Parkerizing is very easy to use, and produces a fine finish. The spray and bake coatings are also effective. The surface texture from blasting gives the matte effect. The slightly roughened surface also assists the chemicals in their reaction with the steel. It also improves adhesion of sprayed finishes. It is entirely practical for blasted cold blued, Parkerized, or sprayed and baked finishes to be applied in a modest home shop.
Sand or other abrasives can be used. Be careful when using aggressive grits, or higher air pressure. Blasting dust can cause silicosis. Practice and experiment on scrap pieces of steel before working on the actual gun parts.
 
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I have actually talked to Bits Of Pieces in Delta, BC. He uses the right type of black parkerizing chemicals, charging $125 for the job.

Thinking more about it, I don't want to do this at home any more. Maybe a gunsmith does it more easily with better results...
 
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