Parkerizing Colors on M1 Garands....comments from some of the guys that know.

[drm3m]

I only have one Garand and I have not seen enough original Garands to be able to determine what is original and what is not.

Comments from Bruce Canfield.

“I don't think it is possible to accurately assess the originality of parkerizing from even the best digital photos as there are just too many subtle nuances that can only be revealed by direct examination, especially in sunlight (fluorescent and incandescent lighting can often distort colors).”

Scott Duff’s article.

PARKERIZING COLORS
A Historical Perspective by Scott A. Duff

If you want to start an argument among collectors of U.S. Military Small Arms ask: “What color Parkerizing is original?” This seemingly simple question will provoke endless discussion, and provide a wider variety of answers than one could assume possible.

Research conducted in the preparation of several M1 rifle related books have provided the opportunity to examine thousands of Garands, including hundreds of rifles in original configuration. Observations indicate the color of the parkerized finish varied with the conditions under which the parkerizing was applied, the era of the rifle’s manufacture, the condition, and/or length of time they were stored.

Specific factors affecting the color resulting from the parkerizing process include: the type of phosphate used, the temperature and duration of the process, the saturating oil bath, and the preservative coating’s reaction on the compounds contained in the parkerizing. In addition, the method and chemicals used in heat-treating and the specified hardness of the individual component also affect the finish color. For instance, a softer metal has a darker finish than a harder one.

Descriptions variations in color and shade are subjective, and two different people may describe the same finish differently. With that in mind, original finishes have been observed which are: charcoal black, gloss black, black with a noticeable green tint, dark olive green, a light, almost translucent gray, and translucent gray with a green cast.

The earliest original rifles examined are in the collection at Springfield Armory National Historic Site. These rifles, serial numbers 81, 87, 79115, 100,000, 1 million, 2 million and 3 million, are in “as-new” condition. They were deemed of historical significance, and generally transferred directly from the factory to the museum shortly after manufacture. They all are of charcoal black color. Early production Winchester M1’s are of the same color. None of these rifles have been coated with Cosmoline or saturated with oil. It is interesting to note that M14 rifles were not subject to Cosmoline coating and are the same color as these early Garands.

Other M1 rifles manufactured during this era, which have seen service, have been observed to be of gloss black or dark green finish. It is believed that the gloss black is primarily a result of repeated cleaning with solvent and oil-soaked rags, which gave an almost polished effect to the finish. The frequently encountered, dark green parkerized finish is believed to be primarily a result of the compounds present in the parkerized finish chemically reacting to the Cosmoline used for corrosion prevention during long term storage. Observations of original Garands manufactured by Springfield and Winchester indicate a change in the finish color from black to a translucent gray during the late summer of 1944. The Parkerizing process used to finish M1’s of post World War II manufacture appears to have returned to the charcoal black finish. If the rifle has been stored in Cosmoline, a green tint may be noted, so, “What color Parkerizing is original?

Most “as new” Garands are charcoal black. Original finishes of gloss black, black with a noticeable green tint, dark olive green, a light, almost translucent gray, and translucent gray with a green cast have been observed. The variables mentioned above and more than fifty years of use and storage make it impossible to give a specific answer.

However, one thing is certain; the argument among collectors and aficionados will continue.

David

 

[Steve1987]

Hello David and others,

I have not forgotten about this thread, but at the time of your original posting David I was not prepared to make any sort of valuable contribution.

Here is what is probably the simplest clue to determining original parkerizing on these rifles:

On original finish Garands produced by SA, HRA, and IHC the chamber should be bright and unfinished. These manufacturers used a cap that covered up the chamber so that no parkerizing entered this surface. When rifles went to the arsenals for re-building and refinishing they handled things a little differently. The arsenals were not concerned about leaving the chambers in the white and parkerized everything.

Some collectors refer to original finish Garands by saying "the chamber is in the white". I'm not saying this is the end all way to determine original finish, but it's definitely the easiest and first thing to check.

Here's a photo of an original finish Garand chamber in the white:



It should be noted that Winchester never cared about leaving the chambers in the white and most original finish on WRA's had parkerized chambers. The way to tell original WRA garand's finish is the unique WRA milky finish, but this could be a whole new topic.

In regards to colors, I have noticed most original USGI M1 Garands and other small arms with original finish have subtle variations in the colors of parkerizing between parts. Arsenal refinished rifles tend to have all the exact same color parkerizing on every part. This parkerizing is typically more like a dark grey as opposed to the greenish color of original parkerizing. After looking at enough original finish examples of USGI firearms, it eventually becomes to pretty easy to tell what's original when seeing the firearm in person.

I took some macro photos of original parkerizing to help CGN collectors familiarize with what to look for:















Compare to an original finish Ithaca M1911A1 from the same production period, there's that same greenish parkerizing:



And don't forget that not all Garand parts are parkerized, certain parts should actually be blued - WWII USGI weapons made use of many different unique finishes other than parkerizing so getting the best reference books will be required to figure out what your looking for, from polished bluing, du-lite bluing, phosphate, parkerizing and more...

Garand macro-photos taken from this 1943 Springfield:



Cheers,
-Steve

 

[drm3m]

Great presentation Steve.
I am sure that this will be appreciated by many Garand collectors.
What a nice M1 rifle!

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Back in 2005 I bought this M1 bayonet on eBay, probably because of the brown grips.
I recently decided to find out more about these brown grips…..rare or not.
Most of the M1 bayonets had black grips.

An answer from the experts.

American Fork and Hoe was the only maker who used these grips in their production. It is a little unusual to find them on an M1 as by the time the M1 came out the grips were more or less discontinued as it had been found that they did not stand up well to the solvents used in cleaning the bayonets.

Quote from Bayonet Points 23: Cellulose Acetate Butyrate (commonly called CAB) was allowed as an alternative material. After some time in field use, it was reported that CAB was not resistant to the solvents used to degrease the bayonets in the field and would dissolve the grips. About 100,000 CAB grips were manufactured before they were discontinued due to this problem in April 1943. From available evidence, it appears that most of these grips were used by AFH, with possibly some going to other makers. According to the edged weapons report quoted above, "Except for the disruption of production that would ensue for about one month while American Fork and Hoe Company was arranging for procurement of the other type of plastic, there was no reason for the continuing of cellulose acetate grips."

It is possible that your bayonet was made in April 1943 at the very beginning of M1 production if these grips are original to it.

http://www.usmilitaryknives.com/bayo_points_23.htm







David

 

[enefgee]

A good person to ask about this would be Nick at Vulcan Gun. He does various types of Parkerizing and restores Garands.

 

[Steve1987]

A good person to ask about this would be Nick at Vulcan Gun. He does various types of Parkerizing and restores Garands.

Vulcan restores parts guns and examples with little to no original finish left to produce something similar to what JRA is marketing. I understand there's a place for this sort of work, but from a collectors standpoint these refinished rifles are of little value or interest - they are more popular amongst the shooter crowd and there's nothing wrong with that. To be perfectly honest, I haven't seen a recently refinished Garand that looks anything like an original in terms of parkerizing, it would be very tough to get proper variations of greenish tones. You would need to have multiple subtle tints of parkerizing baths, and an experienced eye for colors. I have found the Vulcan rifles are usually coming very monotone grey and when photographed they appear almost like they were spray painted silver - add the boyds stock they're usually dressed up in and you have a rifle that's very far from original appearance. Somehow, some of the Vulcan and other restored Garands are still being sold to new collectors as "original" for original prices and I suppose it shows why it's important to do your research first.

Nice original finish examples are still out there, as are legitimate arsenal refinished Garands typically with a more grey than green appearance. The tips above should help determine what you're dealing with. My Garand photographed above is not imported from the USA, it was simply found in the local woodwork.

I suspect the topic of original Garand parkerizing is probably of very limited interest on this forum.

-Steve

 

[purple]

The vast majority of US military small arms were re-built/re-finished at least once so its very hard to locate one with original Parkerizing. The lot of post-WW2 Garands that were on the market 5-6 yrs ago by and large maintained their original finish, altho somewhat worn. These had been furnished to a middle east country as new and had not been subject to refinishing in US military facilities. Original Garand Parkerizing was not identical on all parts. Many parts were parkerized in different lots before assembly into complete rifles. The final color of Parkerizing depends on the strength of the Parkerizing solution, the type of Parkerizing used, metal surface preparation and variations in the types of steels being parkerized. On the Garands, softer steel parts like the barrels, trigger housing, and op rods will tend to be darker than the receivers, even if parkerized in the same Parkerizing bath.

The US military also used different types of Parkerizing solution when refinishing small arms. A manganese based solution will be black in color while a zinc based solution will produce a grey color. There are many theories on just what causes a parkerized surface to be green in color. Many say that it is from long term storage in cosmoline which contains lanolin. As a group, the 03-A3 Springfields will show many variations of green on the receivers. Arsenal refinishing involved sandblasting the parts in order to provide a clean surface for Parkerizing. Many arsenal jobs will show a coarser finish with eroded markings because of this. I hate to say it, but its pretty tough to tell a recently re-parkerized rifle from one that was re-parked in a US arsenal. Parkerizing has been the standard US finish for small arms starting with the M1903 Springfields and some M1917 Enfields in 1918.