Restoring Parkerized Finish?

G

Guyon

New member
I have come into a used Remington Express with the flat black parkerized finish. It has some wear on the finish, however, and some areas have simply been blued (probably cold blued). These spots don't match the original non-glare parkerizing.

I was thinking of setting up this shotgun for turkey hunting next season, and I would like to get some suggestions for the finish. Can areas be reparkerized (touched up), or would the whole gun have to be refinished? Is parkerizing something that one can do at home? Are there any other non-glare or camo finishes that you can recommend for concealment and durability?
 
The various Phosphate finishes we group together as "Parkerizing" have some toxicity to them.One byproduct is traces of Phosgene gas, IIRC. My hunch is it's a bad idea.

Also, the Expresses are not supposed to be Phosphate based, tho I've doubts. I'd try a hit or two of a good cold blue(A bit toxic itself) and see if it matches up.
 
Bluing and parkerizing are very different processes, and can't be matched with cold blue. Bluing really can't be well matched with cold blue.

You can send it out to be parkerized, or paint it! Brownell's sell cans of paint, that are formulated to work well on guns. You can paint it black, or in camo colors. Some of these can be baked on in your oven. (Make SURE your wife will be gone for the day).
You can also do a good job with Rust-oleum oil-based paint from the hardware store.

Surprisingly, paint makes an excellent gun finish. It's easy to apply, is very durable, and the gun can't rust until the relatively thick coat wears through. It's easy to strip and re-do, or to change colors. Plus, you can do it yourself, at home, for very little cost.

To apply, first THROUGHLY degrease the gun with a solvent. (Outside the house). Then apply a coat of paint with brush, spray can, or airbrush. Let stand for an hour to allow some of the paint solvent to evaporate. Then either let dry 24-36 hours, or bake in the oven at 300 degrees or slightly less, for 1 hour.

This has become very popular for guns you don't want to spend the money to refinish, or to have a camo gun plus, depending on how you do it, it can look as good as a factory job.
 
Dfariswheel,

Any suggestions on the best way to remove light engraving from a receiver prior to painting? Thanks.

Mike
 
Short of resurfacing the receiver, there's no way to remove engraving. You'd have to use metal sanding cloth of varius grits to remove enough metal to get down to the bottom of the engraving. That can take a bunch of work, and run the risk of leaving the surface wavey and dished out, unless it's done right.
 
Parkerizing really isn't that big a deal, providing you have access to a sandblaster (or even better yet - a blast cabinet). Degrease everything completely, then degrease it again (and maybe again - grease is your enemy!), and blast it until it's down to bare metal. People argue over which media is best to use, but the finer you go the lighter the color of park you'll get. The more course the more dark, but it also leaves the finish rough which will rub the high spots out and let the bare metal show through. As with everything, the Way is on the middle path. Don't touch or let anything not degreased come into contact with the bare metal before putting it into the park solution, and don't let more than an hour or so go by between blasting and parking.

Get some parkerizing solution and find a stainless steel container big enough to put whatever you want to park in. Solution can be bought from Brownell's, Shooter's solution, or Palmetto Enterprises (who I use). Once again, people argue about which is best, but the manganese phosphate will give you the dark charcoal color while the zinc phosphate gives you more of a light grey. Stainless steel you can get just about anywhere for not very much - keep your eyes open at flea markets and yard sales if you want to go really cheap. I use SS mud pans I got for a dollar each for most of my stuff. If it'll hold water it'll work - if it won't, seal the cracks with JB Weld and it'll work. Don't use aluminum - the park solution will eat it away pretty quickly, and you'll contaminate your solution.

Put your pot on a coleman stove and put the solution in it. Heat it to just below boiling (around 180°F is about ideal) and stick your stuff in there. Turn it every once in awhile, but leave it in there until it stops bubbling (that's the chemical reaction). Usually it only takes about five minutes, but it varies quite a bit depending on how much mass the part has.

Take it out (still don't touch it - use tongs or something) and dip it in water to get rid of the acid. A five gallon bucket will do for most things - slosh it around good. Take it out of the water and coat it COMPLETELY with either WD-40 or non-detergent motor oil (20 or 30wt). This will displace the water to prevent and rusting. WD-40 gets into small spaces better, but if left on for a long period of time will actually cause some rust of it's own - the oil works better and seems to make the part a little darker but won't seep into the little cracks as easily. Some people use both.

Rub it down with a rag, and you're good to go - it's that easy.

Oh yeah - do it outside with plenty of fresh air, and don't hang your head over the pot. The fumes are corrosive and not good for your lungs.

There are other options you can do (acid pre-dip, etc.) that people also argue about, but this really is about all there is to it - you can even do it without a sandblaster, but it's a pain and doesn't give you as even a finish.

Let me know if I can help at all, or if anything's not clear.

Matt
 
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