Parkerized finish
- Thread starter gregs5190
- Start date
There are home parkerizing kits you can buy. Not horribly expensive either. Forget the Canadian guy's name who sells 'em. The kits run about $50US and come with instructions. Parkerizing doesn't work on any metal but steel. No Al, SS or brass. No cross border sales from U.S. suppliers due to the chemicals. You might find one in your local gun shop or at a gun show. I've seen 'em at the Woodstock, Ontario show.
It's literally done on top of your kitchen stove or a propane BBQ/burner(easier to control the temperature with gas than it is with an electric stove). Temperature control is important.
No polishing or any other metal prep work is required (essential for hot bluing). As in you don't have to remove the old finish first or polish the steel. You do need some containers large enough to hold the barrel though.
You get a choice of a black or shades of grey(different metals give different shades of grey. Not entirely sure why. It just is. Black is black.) finish depending on the chemicals used. There are kits that come with both chemicals.
The other option you have is one of the more modern finishes like Duracoat. It's actually a polymer finish that comes in whatever colour you want. Needs a spray gun to put on though.
It's literally done on top of your kitchen stove or a propane BBQ/burner(easier to control the temperature with gas than it is with an electric stove). Temperature control is important.
No polishing or any other metal prep work is required (essential for hot bluing). As in you don't have to remove the old finish first or polish the steel. You do need some containers large enough to hold the barrel though.
You get a choice of a black or shades of grey(different metals give different shades of grey. Not entirely sure why. It just is. Black is black.) finish depending on the chemicals used. There are kits that come with both chemicals.
The other option you have is one of the more modern finishes like Duracoat. It's actually a polymer finish that comes in whatever colour you want. Needs a spray gun to put on though.
I use the Radocy product. It is excellent, ,and user friendly. There are also receipes available to make your own mix.
Duracoat is effective, and easy to apply.
The bake on finishes also work well.
Before refinishing an original military firearm, consider the effect that refinishing will have on the value and desirability of the firearm.
Duracoat is effective, and easy to apply.
The bake on finishes also work well.
Before refinishing an original military firearm, consider the effect that refinishing will have on the value and desirability of the firearm.
i wanna redo my m14, it has had the unitizing job done and the guy I asked sanded a bit too much
AND anyway I always hated the grey parkerizing.
So from what I understand I'd only need the black parkerizing kit, nothing to remove, nothing to apply first, and a barbecue. Seems easy, I'm in!
which radocy product am I looking for and where?
AND anyway I always hated the grey parkerizing.
So from what I understand I'd only need the black parkerizing kit, nothing to remove, nothing to apply first, and a barbecue. Seems easy, I'm in!
which radocy product am I looking for and where?
Radocy is more grey than black. Use the search under parkerising. I have a post going into detail where to get the stuff and how to go about it. The hardest part is finding a tank long enough. I usually sandblast anything I am going to parkerise. The slightest bit of oil ( even from handling it with bare hands) and your screwed and get to start again. The process itself is easy, but the preperation has to be perfect. I usually heat the part till its just warm and wipe it down with laquer thinner (after sandblasting). If it looks spotty I wipe it down and toss it in again. I wouldn't advise doing it in the kitchen(if your single it's ok).
Have fun
Have fun
This is the internet and everybody is an expert. You are free to follow or ignore all advice which is offered.Tell you what,if you want to do a good job of parkerizing there are no shortcuts.
First, thoroughly degrease the parts in laquer thinner.After having done that, only handle the parts with rubber gloves to avoid contamination from fingerprints. Next,sand/beadblast the parts to remove old finish (wear heavy rubber gloves for this) and to activate the steel surfaces so that the parkerizing will react well with the steel.Also,I pre-heat the parts in the oven @ 180-200 before immersion in the park solution which seems to assist the process.
A good parkerizing vessel for all parts,but a barrel or op rod, is a large oblong shaped electric crock pot with ceramic liner.This is non-reactive with the park solution and allows you to regulate/control the heat of the solution which is critical to success.Use a candy thermometer to check temp and degreased stainless steel tongs to deposit/remove parts in solution.
Lastly I would not play with "home brews" or do the job indoors on a kitchen stove.Parkerizing solution is acid based and one should do this outdoors where fumes are not an issue.Get a proper parkerizing kit,rather than try to roll your own.A manganese based solution will produce a blackish color,while a zinc based solution will result in a grey color. This is not hard.It does,however require the proper equipment and attention to detail.
First, thoroughly degrease the parts in laquer thinner.After having done that, only handle the parts with rubber gloves to avoid contamination from fingerprints. Next,sand/beadblast the parts to remove old finish (wear heavy rubber gloves for this) and to activate the steel surfaces so that the parkerizing will react well with the steel.Also,I pre-heat the parts in the oven @ 180-200 before immersion in the park solution which seems to assist the process.
A good parkerizing vessel for all parts,but a barrel or op rod, is a large oblong shaped electric crock pot with ceramic liner.This is non-reactive with the park solution and allows you to regulate/control the heat of the solution which is critical to success.Use a candy thermometer to check temp and degreased stainless steel tongs to deposit/remove parts in solution.
Lastly I would not play with "home brews" or do the job indoors on a kitchen stove.Parkerizing solution is acid based and one should do this outdoors where fumes are not an issue.Get a proper parkerizing kit,rather than try to roll your own.A manganese based solution will produce a blackish color,while a zinc based solution will result in a grey color. This is not hard.It does,however require the proper equipment and attention to detail.
