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Experience with Parkerizing Kits

Hi guys, has anyone tried the Parkerizing Kits from Home http://www.parkerizingkits.com/index.html

I want to Parkeriz my brand new surgeon action. But first conduct a couple of trial runs so I know what to expect.

Anyone with some experience out there using this or a similar product, on there own firearm? Pictures would be great here if possible.

Let me know your experience. Any problems you had. Were you happy with the end colour and the finish it produced? I am looking for a dark finished colour so Black Manganese instead of the gray.
 
338, I use the manganese phosphate concentrate from Brownell's. The darkness varies, usually by base metal. The Surgeon should be cr-moly. Cr-moly comes out darker than mild steel. May just be something I'm doing, don't know. Brownell's sells a pre-treatment that makes things black. I haven't used it though. I've also been told by a friend that does parkerizing (manganese phosphating) professionally, that boiling the parts first and immediately putting them in the hot phosphating solution makes them darker. Also, I read somewhere that using fresh blasting media helps make the finish darker. Since I switched to aluminum oxide media in my blasting cabinet, mine have come out slightly darker than when I was using sugar sand.

I buy the quart size because if it sets for awhile, the manganese precipitates out. I got a gallon and some of it went bad before I could use it. The instructions that come with the bottle are clear and easy to follow.

If you have a piece of cr-moly, like a barrel stub, practice on it. It actually isn't hard to do, just a little work.

Good luck, Tom
 
Best tip I can give is cleanliness is the key to consistent results. For phos. finish I blast with 120 alox. Clean the parts before blasting, blast with clean media, when done blasting blow off the parts with air and go right into boiling H20. I use hot water to pre-heat the part then go into right into the park solution. When park is done go back into the hot water to rinse, oil if your staying parked or blow dry and paint. Ive found that increasing the concentration of park solution in the water will make the parts darker YMMV. For doing actions I made a delrin mandrel that fits into the front of the action and protects the bolt raceway, bolt lug recess,action thread and action face from the blasting media. The park wont stick to the non blasted surfaces very well. Pretty simple for the most part
 
Paperpuncher, do you know if the blackening pre-treatment works?

We're pretty much on the same page, except I don't have the extra tank for boiling water. I'm sure it would help. I have to just flush parts with the water hose. Less than ideal, but it works fairly well.

I've pushed the concentration up and also let the solution temp get up to around 200 - 205 deg F, but other than getting more of the white crap, haven't been able to consistently get darker color.

It does make an excellent corrosion resistant finish after spraying and wiping down with LPS-3. A good epoxy spray finish over a clean dry parkerized finish is about as good as it can get. Excellent resistance to extreme conditions, including salt spray.

Tom
 
Thanks guys for your input and tips, I think I will order some and get some real world experience for myself.
Were you happy with the finish the product produce. has anyone got any pics of there firearm part they Parkeriz? thanks 338 Lapua
 
I have used Shooter Solutions zink and mangenese (sp) park with very good success several times. The mangenese is much darker (almost black) but is more expensive. The zink is more light grey, very reasonable on price, and good base for spray coatings. Note that metal hardness changes park color even on the same part. Ex - FAL lowers are heat treated in spots and this becomes very obvious when you park them, you really see a clear change in color. If this bothers you then you will end up spray coating. Not trying to tell you not to do this - just don't be shocked if not all parts come out same color.
 
The brownells darkening agent relly works.There are companys that make the old military grey green as well.Do you guys do this in the kitchen or outside? I have done it in the kitchen but for all I know I am contaminating my food.LOL
 
Jon, I do it in my little shop, but the fumes and steam aren't noxious or irritating. I've done some small pieces in a stainless boiler on the kitchen stove just for convenience. Didn't notice any odor, but wouldn't make a practice of it just for the sake of caution.

There is safety info on the Brownell's labels. Maybe MSDS"s. I probably ought to read them.

Thanks for the info on the darkener. I wouldn't buy it because I wasn't sure it would work.

Tom
 
I use the Shooters Solutions kit for automotive fastener restoration, and it works very well.

After blasting a part, I then wash it in hot water + TSP. I try to get it into the hot (200 degree) phosphate solution as soon as I can.

I've had excellent results.
As noted above, the cleanliness will make a difference but not as much as the base material. Tried coloring a stud for a Holley carb recently and it essentially refused to take color. However, Ospho from Brownells did the trick. ;)
Make sure you get all of the water off the part when you oil it after the rinse. Any water may cause a bit of rust despite the fresh phosphating.
 

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