Recommended metal finishes (ie parkerizing concentrate) ?

[8shot]

What are you guys using to put a durable finish on metal parts? For example restoring vintage loading and bullet sizing presses. After treating the parts in a rust remover solution..the rust and bluing both disappear.

Looking for a easy process to protect the parts like parkerizing concentrate etc. Don't want to mess with the hot bluing salts process.

Tried some Caswell Mega Black Concentrate and not satisfied with the results.

What are you using and where can I purchase it?

Thanks

 

[Alk8944]

I have bought and used parkerizing chemicals and they worked well. You can get solutions for both gray and green parkerizing. I bought it on-line probably 20+ years ago and don't recall where or how much it cost. Google it yourself. As I recall Brownell's had parkerizing chemicals , but they were more than the source I bought mine from. I did 1/2 the work for you! Here is a link to the net page: parkerizing kit - Google Search

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

I used to Parkerize 1911 parts all the time. Relatively low temp. 185 degrees F. Can't use stainless for tanks. I used a Coleman stove and a small blue enamel roasting pan. Some wooden tongs and thick rubber gloves. Last step in the process is an oil bath. I had a large quantity of BreakFree CLP.

Do NOT Parkerize coil or flat springs!

Make sure no aluminum or stainless parts get in your solution, they'll ruin that batch of solution.

Did a little experimenting and used cold blue after the hot water rinse but before oil bath, it made the grey color almost black.

The final coating is pretty soft for a week. At two or three days I did my assembly and test firing with 8 rounds of FMJ handloads. This lapped in the final fit. Let cure for another week. My personal 1911 still looks good 20 some years later.

The surfaces to be Parkerized need to be coating, paint, and rust free! I sandblasted everything "White" just before Parkerizing.

The chemical reaction gets better each time you use the solution, but for the first usage, I would throw half a wad of fine steel wool for 15-20 minutes before starting the gun parts. The longer the parts stay in the solution, the thicker the coating. I liked the coat to be thick, so the parts "Cooked" for about 30 minutes.

The brand of concentrate I used was sold by a Chemist at OGCA shows for years, but he died about 20 years ago, so it is not available any longer.

Now you know as muck about it as I do (and maybe more!)

Ivan

 

[2152hq]

What are you guys using to put a durable finish on metal parts? For example restoring vintage loading and bullet sizing presses. After treating the parts in a rust remover solution..the rust and bluing both disappear.

Looking for a easy process to protect the parts like parkerizing concentrate etc. Don't want to mess with the hot bluing salts process.

Tried some Caswell Mega Black Concentrate and not satisfied with the results.

What are you using and where can I purchase it?

Thanks

If the Vintage parts were 'blued' (you are removing bluing with rust remover),,and want to put that back on w/o getting involved w/hot salt bluing,,
I would recommend using a Rust Blue.

All you need is a container large enough so the part(s) fit into it and can be submerged in water.
That water will be boiling,,no other chemicals in it,,just plain boiling water.

The parts must be clean of all oil & grease,,old finish, paint, ect.
Bead blast does a nice job of cleaning stuff like this.

Coat the parts with the Rust Blue solution. A very thin coating brushed on or with a dampened pad.
Let the parts 'rust'.
Then boil the rusted parts to turn the red rust to blue/black.
Takes about 15min in the water.

Out of the water and dry.
'Card' the loose oxide off the parts with clean steel wool or a very fine wire wheel (carding wheel).
Once the parts are cooled off,,apply another coating of soln,,allow to rust again and back into the water,
Repeat,,repeat.. usually 3 to 6 cycles.

This is 'Cold Rust Bluing' also called Slow Rust Blue.

There is Express Rust blue as well. Same idea, but different soln.
It is applied to the hot metal and rusts immedietely. Then the parts got right into the water for 15min. Out they come blue/black to be carded.
You then immedietely recoat asthey are still hot with the soln and they rust immedietely. Then back into the boiling water. etc etc.
Express Rust Blue. A start to finish operation.
No waiting for the parts to rust naturally.


Thta's what I would do if I wanted bluing on the parts. If they are pre-late 1930's, and Blued...that's what they ahad for a finish more than likely anyway.
Hot salt blue didn't come around in the firearms industry in the USA till about 1938. A bit earlier in Europe (mid 1930's Germany started using 'Durferrit')

Charcoal and Carbona Oil furnace blue were in use then but I don't think those types of parts would be good candidates for that style of bluing.
Not that they couldn't be done that way.,,