Title should say most of it. I want to parkerize parts before I finish them with moly resin and I wanted to see if the were any gunsmiths who parkerize. I also have heard some stories from other people on other forms who have told stories about gunsmiths who stopped returning calls and disappeared. Are there any precautions I should take before sending all my parts to lesser known gunsmiths?
I used to do a lot of Parkerizing.
The problem you are going to run into is time after parking. You have to shoot your Moly IMMEDIATELY after parking the parts. Like park them, rinse them, bake them and shoot them.
That is the only way you can be assured that absolutely NO oil has gotten on them.
If you send the parts out to be parked they will likely be oiled, otherwise they will rust. Yes, parkerized components will rust if not oiled. Even if they aren’t oiled they will wick oil from anything they contact, they would have to be kept surgically clean.
Phosphate coating either zinc or manganese is essentially a sponge for oil. I will typically soak parts for 2-3 days in used motor oil and 2 days after pulling them out they look dry.
If the parts get ANY oil on them before coating them you will NEVER get it all out. You can bake it, soak it in acetone and it will still leach oil.
The park is a great base for an applied finish but it is not mandatory.
I used to shoot lots of Moly Resin without parking and never had any issue with longevity or rust/corrosion.
Prep is the key, disassemble completely. Degrease thoroughly. When you think it is clean do it again.
Bake the parts at 350 for an hour or two. Let it cool, degrease again.
Media blast, 80-100 grit aluminum oxide or similar works well- don’t beadblast it leaves a finish without any “tooth” to hold the coating.
Degrease it and bake it again.
Re blast if any hints of oil show, it will appear as dark spots.
Degrease again (seeing a trend?)
Bring the parts to about 150 degrees and then shoot your Moly.
Let things dry for about an hour and the do the bake to set the Moly.
Let it cool off overnight at least before reassembling, give it a chance to set and cure completely.
FWIW the prep for just parkerizing is just about the same, one bit of oil will kill the finish and your park solution.
It is time consuming and a PITA to do correctly.
If this is a one or two time thing I would outsource the entire job.
Well known with collectors, he's done a few jobs for me and did good work and turned things around in a few weeks. As noted it will be oiled immediately.
warpath metal finishing contact info.
molinenorski@msn.com
720-841-1399 during normal business hours.
I can tell you I did a park job myself, on my kitchen stove, in 2008. It wasn't very hard because 'meh, good enough' was acceptable for what I was working on.
It did, however, 'ruin' a nice steel pot, make the house smell very special, and contributed towards my lifetime ban from inside-the-house firearm maintenance.
So I'd defer to the other advice you've been given, and treat mine as a cautionary tale.
Quote:
Originally Posted by JohnnyEgo
Does that come with breakfast and a pizza?
I parkerize parts on my stove top all the time, it's super easy to do. I have a regular stainless steel pot for small parts and a 24 inch long drywall mud pan for barrels and longer pieces. Wear rubber/latex gloves while handling the parts and you won't have to worry about getting oils on the parts before spraying.
I also spray my own cerakote at home using a Preval sprayer and I bake the parts in my oven. The only thing I can't do is media blast my own parts, that's my next goal.
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