Parkerizing?

[Voodoochile]

Been thinking of Re-parkerizing my old Colt m1911A1 instead of the bluing that the guy I bought it from 20+ years ago did.

Yes, this one originally was a Parkered 1942 issued M1911A1 but I guess the previous owner decided to clean it up & blue it which back in 1991 I didn't mind because I was looking for a more modern defense side arm "than a C&B Revolver" & since it did have some history I bought it knowing that it's real historical value is pretty much out the door.

I understand the necessary steps to parkerize a firearm & some that I have read adds a step to make it a black finish, my question is..
Do I need to go that extra step for the black look since originally they were more of a grey finish than black?

I know that the parts need to be super cleaned of any trace oils & what not, I also know about blasting the surface to have a good clean metal for the park to work into & the 180* temps I'm working with.

Anything I'm missing?
Do I need the blackening step?

 

[carbine85]

I have some parkerizing solutions but its been 10 years since I did the last rifle. With mine you have to dip the parts in a blackening agent just before your parkerize the parts, then cook your parts at 190, rinse, and spray them with oil or WD40.
You also have to condition the solution with some degreased steel wool before you use it.

 

[Jim Watson]

Blackened Parkerizing is not period correct for WWII weapons.

Most are dark gray, darker when soaked with old oil.
Some have a greenish tinge which is variously reported as being due to a chromate dip or to storage in Cosmoline.

 

[RPRNY]

Here's a 1943 example slightly greenish tinge

 

[rcmodel]

That's how they look!

And I'm not buying the 'stored in cosmoline turned them green' theory either.

I have a 1911 National Match gun I built using a new in vac sealed foil 1980 new production slide.
No cosmoline ever touched it.

And the slide is green Parkerized.

rc

 

[Jim Watson]

So see alternate theory on chromate dip.

 

[rcmodel]

I know.

But I carried a lot of green Army guns back in the day.

And all of them had mil-spec finish as far as I know.

I was issued a brand new Winchester M-14 in 1968 with a stunning fiddleback stock.

And well as I remember it was about as green tinted as the old 1911-A1 I also carried?
And I doubt it was chromate dipped by Winchester.

I believe the Parkerizing solution became contaminated over time and produced green tinted Park, which must have been perfectly acceptable by the military inspectors who passed them.

rc

 

[Jim Watson]

Found on another board:

The MIL-SPEC for parkerizing called for Zinc or Manganese solution being used (depending on availability WWII era) it also calls for a secondary chromate conversion coating. Chromate conversion coatings can be applied over phosphate conversion coatings that are used on ferrous substrates. This process is used to enhance the phosphate coatings corrosion resistance.

Amoung some experienced metal finishers the consensus is that improper solution tempatures, overly strong chromium concentrations and soak time variences in the secondary chromium dip is the cause of the now much desired "green park" patina found on some WWII Garands, 1911 pistols etc. The chromium dip if a bit "off" reacts with the phosphate coating and you get the green tinge developing, a cosmetic process defect if you will but fine for rushed wartime production . (apparently it's not the cosmoline folks ).

 

[WardenWolf]

I know there's someone in NoVA that does parkerizing at a very reasonable price. I inquired a while back, although I'd have to dig up the email. Never got around to doing it due to finances at the time.

Keep in mind that there's two parkerizing processes. There's manganese phosphate and zinc phosphate. Manganese phosphate produces the traditional grey color, whereas zinc phosphate produces a matte black color that looks similar to unpolished bluing. I personally prefer grey in most circumstances, but make sure that whoever you're using utilizes your preferred method. Otherwise you'll get your pistol back in the wrong color.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Parkerizing generally results in a grey finish. To get the greenish color, we dipped out pieces into a hot tank filled with water and topped with GI Gun Grease.

 

[RPRNY]

The greenish tinge came from the Connecticut River water used by the Armory back in the day. Now it's all cleaned up but 50 years ago? Ugh.

 

[rcmodel]

Well, there a new theory I hadn't heard before!

rc

 

[Hot]

Different Parks

There are a couple of different types of parkerizing. Read the link on parkerizing here. It is a good read on the subject. Also dont parkerize the inside of your barrel if you go for it.

 

[Aragon]

I followed this advice some time ago with excellent results:

"From: [email protected] (Gunfreak)
Newsgroups: rec.crafts.metalworking


Subject: Re: Is phosphating/parkerizing simple?
Date: 25 Aug 1999 02:41:11 GMT

I do a LOT of parkerizing, and yes, it's very simple. Don't use Brownell's
chemicals if you want good results, though. Plus, their chemicals require that
you "season" the solution with a bag of iron filings first. Crazy. Buy the
chemicals from Palmetto Enterprises, (864) 246-3836. For really small stuff,
you can microwave the solution in a coffee mug, dump your parts in and be done in 5 minutes. MSC sells various sizes of stainless steel tanks (under some weird name which I forget) and you can do it on the kitchen stove. I have a large, dedicated tank, but the results are just as good with the coffee mug.


Mark Serbu"

 

[BBBBill]

I've used the Palmetto Enterprises as well as the Brownells. Great results with both.

 

[krs]

Speaking of the Brownell's solutions - I just found an old bottle of their stuff n a back shelf. It's got to be at least ten years old, but it's never been opened.

Is it good? I've got an old S&W 1917 in pieces that I blasted more than ten years ago. I bought it for $50. painted some wannebe blue by the OP. I tore it down and bead blasted it but left the pieces in a coffee can until lately.

I think the best thing for it would be to parkerize but didn't want to try that old solution without knowing something about its shelf life.