parkerizing an 870 express

[Narwhal]

Hi,

I was thinking of sending my 870 express receiver, magazine tube, and magazine extension off to get a manganese parkerized finish. The vendor wanted me to be sure that all of these parts were "carbon steel" before I sent them to him. Can you tell me if they are in fact made of carbon steel?

It's a Remington 870 Express Synthetic 7-round model number 25077 that was purchased around 5 years ago new. Can anyone tell me if the parts are in fact carbon steel? They certainly appear to be.

 

[TurtlePhish]

It's carbon steel.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Yes, everything except the trigger plate, which is either aluminum or polymer, and the furniture, which is wood or polymer. But since the trigger plate comes out as a single unit, it won't go into the solution so it won't be a problem. Unless you've added accessories like tritium sights etc, the rest of the shotgun itself should be no problem.

I've had several parked over the years and they turn out well...

 

[Downeast]

If your not sure, check the components you want parkerized with a magnet.

 

[derangedhermit]

Since you are having it refinished anyway, you might go over the parts with 600 grit and 1000 grit sandpaper to smooth out the surfaces as much as you can. Mine had rust spots in several places, so I decided to remove all the old finish I could. Once I knocked the existing finish down, I was surprised how rough the bare metal was; the receiver was the worst. Creasing the sandpaper to fit in the channels for the forearms rails and sanding out the rough spots and the many ridges made a day and night difference in the action. I could have cycled it dry 10,000 times and not gotten it that smooth.

I ended up leaving mine shiny metal, with a couple coats of Johnson's paste wax or Boeshield or NuFinish (a car polish) on it. It looks very nice, and no rust has come back for a couple months.

 

[119er]

Before it is parkerized it will be sandblasted to rough the surface up so I don't think ant prep work on your part is neccessary.

I've been wanting to do my 870 and an SKS too. I prefer Zinc phosphating myself, more of a gray color than black.

 

[AI&P Tactical]

I would think someone who does not know that the the 870 can parkerized should not be having one sent to them to parkerize. It is the most common pump shotgun out there and anyone in the refinishing should know that information. Sounds like they don't get much business. That is simply my opinion which of course is like "you know what".

 

[MtnCreek]

Before it is parkerized it will be sandblasted to rough the surface up so I don't think ant prep work on your part is neccessary.

+1. 80 grit Alum Oxide gives a nice, rough finish. Talk to your smith about his suggestions, 80 may be a little too aggressive for thinner shotgun steel, but it is great for a rifle.

 

[Virginian]

I would think someone who does not know that the the 870 can Parkerized should not be having one sent to them to Parkerize. It is the most common pump shotgun out there and anyone in the refinishing should know that information.

Boy, I second that one in spades.

 

[mooner]

Anybody tried any home parkerizing like this?

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/73...ute-agi-parkerizing-kit-with-step-by-step-dvd

 

[MtnCreek]

I've used this.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/24...hosphate-parkerizing-solution-1-gallon-liquid

 

[AI&P Tactical]

The home kits are great as they send a lot of business to those who do this professionally. Doing a hand gun on your stove is one thing, but a long gun is something else. A tank able to take a shotgun barrel alone can run a couple hundred dollars, then there are the post treatment tanks, pipe burner and stand, blast cabinet, compressor, blast media and the key element - Knowledge.

Parkerizing can be like voodo. Mix and age a tank of park the exact same way every time you do it and you get that batch that just won't cover worth and damn because the moon was in the wrong phase or Mars was not aligned properly. And all you can do sometimes is ask "what the hell?"

Also, no sand paper is going to prep a gun properly for parkerizing as the metal has to be made as corse as possible to get a heavy coat. If not then you either don't get coverage or you get a very thin coat. It has to be blasted to get a proper coat.

I highly recommend you ask around in your area for a local place to do this if you want a professional finish.

 

[Drail]

FWIW, AI&P does some of the best Parkerizing I have seen.

 

[MtnCreek]

Also, no sand paper is going to prep a gun properly for parkerizing as the metal has to be made as corse as possible to get a heavy coat. If not then you either don't get coverage or you get a very thin coat. It has to be blasted to get a proper coat

+1 on the sandpaper. See below. Action, bolt knob and other misc parts were media blasted. I didn't know if the bolt body should be blasted or if a smooth surface was needed, so I used sandpaper on it to take it down to clean metal. It did take the park, but a very thin surface of it. For what it is, I'm happy, but if I had tried to prep all the parts with sandpaper I would have not been happy at all.

 

[LeonCarr]

J.D., have you started taking orders for Parkerizing again?

Thanks,
LeonCarr

 

[AI&P Tactical]

Sorry but no. To many on the waiting list for builds. Have to restrict the refinishing to Departmental weapons only to justify the guys waiting for builds having to wait. I go to Ilion to re-cert end of April and believe all this hype will be over by then and will start back once I get home if orders for new builds are back to normal.

 

[LeonCarr]

Ok cool...thanks.

LeonCarr