Home parkerizing

[whisperfan]

Home parkerizing is not all that difficult and does not need to be all that expensive either … or rather, you can make it as expensive as you want to.

Here’s how Brownell’s says to do it in their instructions:
1. Prep your parts … usually this would be by sandblasting (but I have parked smooth parts before - more about that later) This includes hanging them on wires so they don’t touch the sides or bottom of the tank or container.
2. Clean your parts - Suspend the parts in 909 cleaning solution. 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees.
3. Rinse in flowing water - no longer than a minute or so
4. Into a boiling water tank to bring up the temp of the steel . 3-5 minutes at boil (or close to it)
5. Directly into the manganese parkerizing solution. Until they stop reacting at 190 to 195 degrees. Do not boil.
6. Rinse in cool water
7. Into a post-treatment solution of some type.
8. Reassemble and inspect.

That is the process as it is ‘supposed’ to be done (whatever that means)

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In preparation for setting up my kit, I had some tanks made for me. All are stainless, I had three tanks made for long guns, they are 40" and 6"x6" then I also had three "½ tanks" made. These are also 6"x6" but only 20" long. I had them made because I have a friend that has a sheet metal shop, and it was cheaper than buying them. If I were doing it again, I’d have them made so that one would fit into another and both of them fit into the third (nesting them together) to save space during storage.

The biggest thing to decide on, is how to heat, and control the heat, of the tanks. I have used both gas and electric. I am currently re-doing my set-up.

Here is a photo of my old heaters. I have three of them. They operate on propane and I wasn’t happy with the heating.


So I am making a frame to hold all three tanks as seen here in this photo


Here are the ½ tanks


Here is just the frame


The metal for the frame is a re-claimed old bed frame. I will often go to the local Good-Will and pick up a couple five dollar bed frames to use for cheap angle iron.

[whisperfan]

Here are my chemicals and extra parts


Now - some things I have learned, and some that I have done with success.

First of all, you might not need large thanks. If all you are going to do are handguns, or small parts, you might get by with stainless steel cookware. I went to the local dollar store and bought three large pots. Just bring a magnet with you to make sure they are stainless.
I have tried parking parts that are 100% smooth and nearly polished. I found that the park comes out thinner and does not hold up as well. however, if the part isn't going to have another part creating friction, it works OK.

This is a case trimmer I made. The rails are drill rod - and they weren't blasted before being parked.


I have created a parkerized finish with as little work as:
1. Toss the part into the blast cabinet while I am heating up a saucepan of park solution on a hotplate.
2. Once the solution is hot, spray down the part with automotive brake cleaner
3. After the brake cleaner evaporates, hang the part in the park solution
4. When it stops fizzing, rinse it off and spray it down with RemOil

Done!

If you need to do a long gun, but don’t have a long tank, make up a tube of pvc pipe with a cap on one end that is large enough to hold the barreled action. Heat up a large pan of the solution.
Hang the action in the pipe so that it doesn’t touch.
Pour the hot park solution into the tube. I have found that the solution won’t cool off too much before it is done.

I think this is something I am going to look into regarding my heating system.
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