couple parkerizing questions

[doubleDarms]

About how many long guns can you parkerize with one 3 1/2 gallon tank set up? A pint of parkerizing solution of course. And is it normal to get that like ultra fine sandy/milky deposits in the bottom of your tank ? It's fluid, not stuck to the bottom or nothing. And finally, about how much water can you add to your solution, from the evaporation, before you dilute the solution to much ? Thanks fellas for any input.

 

[mj2evans]

You can do several long guns,assuming you clean well and don't contaminate the solution). If you see fizzing then the solution is still good but will take longer after you do a couple of guns. However, the sandy stuff you mention is called flock and it means you are running the temp of the tank too high,you don't want a rolling boil). Flock is unavoidable but can be limited - I run zinc park around 180 F but managenese,sp) needs to be a little warmer in my experience. I use a candy thermometer to keep track. Strain out the flock with a paint filter, if flock settles on parts in the tank it will give you an ungly finish,blocks reaction). About toping off - mark the level of the tank when filled with a fresh batch of park - top off to that level,distilled water - I don't trust city water or my pipes!).

 

[doubleDarms]

Thank you sir

 

[TRECustom]

I just occasionally do manganese park,phosphating) and I have used Palmetto's and Brownell's concentrate. It will start coloring at way below 190 deg, but that's where I try to control at. I always get the white crap too and strain it out when I pour the solution back into milk jugs to save it. I write the date on the jugs every time I use the solution. I have done as many as 5-6 runs on a batch of solution by just adding distilled water and sweetening the solution with a little concentrate before running. Not scientific, but does ok. When you make up a new batch, be sure to run some clean iron,I use dry, un-oiled steel wool) to stabilize it or it may blotch the parts you want to run. Brownell's sells some stuff to make the color darker, but I haven't tried it. I'm just an amateur, but a friend used to do it commercially, and he told me if I would boil the parts in plain water and transfer them directly out of the boiling water into the parkerizing bath, they would come out darker and more consistent.

I don't buy more than a gallon of concentrate at a time, because if I don't use it quick enough, the manganese precipitates out of the concentrate and I'm afraid to use it then.

One last thing; I used to use sugar sand for blasting, but switched to 70 grit Al oxide media to cut down on the dust in my cabinet. I think it also improves the finish. I found it at Harbor Freight and Northern Tool.

Good luck, Tom

 

[doubleDarms]

Thanks fellas,

May I ask, what's the trick to getting the dowel rods back out of the chamber on bolt action rifles ? The muzzle end seems to come right out, but the chamber always seems to weld itself in there.

 

[TRECustom]

I use the silicone rubber tapered plugs from Brownell's. They work ok to keep solution out of the barrel, but don't seal chambers bigger than .308, etc. Also, the plug sometimes works out of the muzzle while blasting the barrel. After rinsing and drying, pull out the muzzle plug and use compressed air to blow out the chamber plug. Aim it somewhere you can find it.

Tom