What is "Parkerizing?"

Parkerizing is phosphate conversion coating steel using either zinc or manganese phosphate. It won't work on nickel steel or stainless, though. Manganese phosphate Parkerizing is the "military" dark gray color. It holds oil extremely well, along with being used as a surface prep for things like DuraCoat (if you're doing it right, that is!)

(And yes, Parkerizing is capitalized.)

PTK

Well that was interesting. Now the question. Does anyone still do Parkerizing, (with a capital)?
Only reason I'm asking is I have a WWII Parkerized 1911 that still looks good.

Lots of gunsmiths will do it for you. You can do it yourself too. I believe Brownell's sells a kit.

LOTS of companies still offer Parkerized finishes, and any decent gunsmith can refinish a gun as such for you.

Does anyone still do Parkerizing?

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For starters, (nearly) all carbon steel AR barrels are Parkerized.

You're not going to do mean things to that nice Colt of yours, are you, Legionnaire?

Some years ago, I worked in the Automotive Industry; one of the OEM companys. We produced assembys for what was known the Big Three. That's no more!! I was a Purchasing Agent. One the parts used a bolt with what was called a Phos and oiled finish. It looked exactly like Parkerizing and I always expected it was the same process. There may still be some hardware produced with that finish. I don't know if there are any EPA requirements on the process as there are on others. Some of those plating processes were pretty caustic and nasty and are now highly regulated. I know of one plater that I did business with had to close its doors. Back to the phos and oil finish, it withstood salt spray test real well. This one particular fastener had what we called and anaerobic coating in the thread area, that was the first esposure I had to what was called Loc-tite. Thats been a long time ago.

"Parkerizing" is a registered trademark owned by one company, but almost everyone refers to it as a generic term like xerox or kleenex. The proper generic term would be phosphating.

Parkerizing actually lightly etches the metal, then coats it, which makes it less reflective in the light, and it will hold oil real well due to the etching. The finish itself will also hold oil better, being somewhat of a sponge when it comes to oil.

If you want a real flat black color on your firearm, you remove the pitting (if desired), bead blast it, then Parkerize it and blue it. The result is a real dark bluing, that can stand up to a lot more abuse than normal bluing, and it looks great on those WW1 and WW2 firearms.

I've seen those parkerizing kits on sale, how hard is it to do at home, yourself? Is there a big chance of screwing it up for a newbie?

Parkerizing is also considered a "porous" coating/treatment (hence the ability to soak up oil). If you DON'T keep it oiled, you will get rusting/pitting.

Parkerizing is easy. Brownell's solutions work well. To get a good finish it is best to sandblast a uniform matte finish with 90 grit media prior to parkerizing. Parkerizing requires a heated stainless tank, say 180 - 200 F). The general process is to de-grease, sandblast, blow off any areas that might trap grit, pre-heat in hot water dip, immerse in heated, activated park tank until bubbling stops, remove, rinse, blow off, air dry, oil treat or spray coat with polymer finish (parkerizing isn't a barrier to moisture). Parking doesn't change dimensions measurably as it is a conversion coating, not plating that builds up. Unchromed barrels should be plugged and any area that doesn't get parking can be masked with good plater's tape, liquid peelable latex mask,etc. Parkerizing is a great surface treatment for other coatings as it gives great adhesion. I prefer semi-gloss Norell molycoat air brushed over park. It goes on very thin, but covers up any variety in the park finish due to heat treated areas that sometimes don't park evenly.

Be warned that parking one item isn't really economical, but if you have several folks to go in on supplies it can get addictive refinishing things.

I had a local smith Parkerize and do the hi-cap conversion on a Saiga for me.
I supplied the parts, and his work ran me about $120 total, so he charged $80 to park the rifle. It came out great,and I felt the price was reasonable.

Parkerizing is a pretty simple process, durable and easy to repair. Not much equipment is needed. As with any finishing procedure, preparation is critical. Any grease or oil will cause problems. Welded areas will probably not park the same as the surrounding area. Here's a pic of a Browning we did in my buddy's back yard. The flash hider does not match as it still has the original finish.

Phosphating is the prevalent term in other industries...

What's also cool is to use a cold parkerizing like K-Phos prior to coating with moly resin or Duracoat. Works great to get rid of flash rust and etch/prime the surface for good coating adhesion. Did my Saiga-12 and a PF-9 slide wil moly resin.

"...and blue it..." Bluing is a controlled rusting process. It won't go on parkerizing.
"...If you want a real flat black color..." Use black phosphating. The trade-mark, I think, process is called Lube-rite. Goes on the same way Parkerizing does but uses different chemicals.

Is it more durable than blueing? Will it scratch easy? Holster wear?

Here's a 1911 that I parkerized on my kitchen stove (with the vent fan going full blast... do NOT do this without adequate ventilation). The frame and slide are slightly differently colored, but it worked out well. I did all the small parts with the exception of the fire control parts and pins. Unfortunately I've noticed a few places that didn't get proper file treatment and I'll need to redo the frame and mainspring housing.