Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing Parkerizing: What Are the Advantages/Disadvantages?

I have a client who parkerizes guns for me for free. It's a great option for rode-hard-put-up-wet pieces and holds up better than tank blue, but isn't as pretty either.

For my son's 10th bday I cobbled a "Campfire Special" from parts puchased in the classifieds. It is my intention to customize it in bits & pieces, culminating in a custom walnut or high end synthetic (I try to shelter him to the harsh ugliness of the world) but right now I am concerned about utility.

What does it take to remove parkerizing once applied? Is that process damaging to the rifle?

Thanks for the input,

efw

Not unless it invades the bore.

I do lots of Parkerizing in my shop and I always plug the bore. I first fill the bore with a close fitting wooden dowel rod to displace the air and plug the ends with rubber corks. Park usually doesn't harm the bore but I still plug them. Park only seems to work where the steel is freshly bead blasted. I have never gotten it to park a polished surface.

parkerizing is a coating whereas blueing is part of the steel's surface. if you leave the steel in the park solution longer the crytals will build up-like USGI M1 parts that come out of the wrap. Protection is better too. if the custonmers doesn't care for this thick coating - then just lightly rub with fine steel wool. I plug the bore too and put a lot of LSA lube when reassembling or the gun won't work due to the sandblasting and park coating. Remove the excess lube after testfiring and break in. Park looks nice on guns that were originally parked- M1 garands, 45s and carbines. On pre-64 win m70? NO WAY!, unless the customer insists.

Park is not a coating. It is a chemical conversion of the steel's surface. It does have some built-up thickness, since you are adding phosphorus & magnesium to the mix.

The easiest way to remove it is by sandblasting. That process is no more damaging than sanding/blasting off bluing.

You can plug the bore, but don't have a cow if it leaks. As pointed out, Parker doesn't have much effect on polished surfaces. There are a lot of gunsmiths that don't bother plugging.

Thanks a lot all; I genuinely appreciate the feedback!

Parkerizing is a coating - it comes off with steel wool. Hot blueing - the brownells oxy 7 process - won't come off with steel wool. There are 3 types of parkerizing - iron, zinc and manganese phosphate. I never heard of magnesium being used. I have been doing parkerizing - manganese phosphate from brownells - since the 1980's. It is not for every gun but on military guns it looks appropriate. And if there is pitting present - i like to sandblast first to remove the rust down to the bottom of the pits and then rough polish the pitting out starting with 140 grit -240 etc. and then sandblast again before parkerizing. One example that I use is if i put two pieces of steel on the roof-exposed to the elements one blued and one parkerized - both without any oil - the blued steel would rust first - followed by the parkerized piece. The moral of the story is that all metal will eventually corrode if not cared for. Mel Chung ps: i plug the bore too - why ask for trouble?

melchung - I'm calling bull. Parkeriziing is a iron-phosphate vs an iron -oxide conversion of surface iron molecules. You can remove "bluing"(iron-oxide) with steel wool also. It is, after all, just another form of rust. Nothing magical about it.

Parkerizing is definately NOT a "coating", any more than hot salt blueing is.

Parkerizing, preferably with fine glass-beading, followed by a prior wipe with steel wool to remove the glass-beading "points" (possibly the source of your mis-perception on parkerizing as a coating?)before parkerizing is superior corrosion-resistent treatment to bluing, especially when treated with Eezox or Corrosion X immediately therafter, with the metal well-heated to expand the pores. Moisture will literally puddle and run off.

When I glass bead work before bluing it, I always "wipe" it with fine steel wool to remove the "points" left by the beading, prior to the bluing process.


Parkerizing ain't as pretty as bluing. But it is tougher, and I'm more into function than purty, mostly.

Most of my guns are blued (I have one stainless and one parkerized)- but that's cuz I have bluing tanks and salts, and can treat my guns every several years, as needed, for labor, rather than have to send out for parkerizing. I'm cheap....

las:I take exception to you calling my name Bull. Just how long have you been parkerizing? professionally? i don't glass bead - i use a medium garnet grit and manganese phosphate. Customers are usually happy, especialy since I show them a sample of my work first. Mel Chung