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Parkerizing


jerry

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I am considering parkerizing a project and am curious do you parkerize the barrel and receiver seperately or as one unit. If you do have to do them seperately do you have to do something to protect the threads in the receiver and on the barrel.

 

Thanks for your help, Eric

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I have a parkerized barrel that the threads have also been parked. It threads into the receiver I plan to use just fine.

If I was to do a barrel I would plug the bore with tappered wood dowels.

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I parkerize with the barrel on the receiver to eliminate the chance of marking the barrel with the vise. And I plug my barrel prior to parkerizing to maintain a smooth bore. Parkerizing is actually an chemical etching process and not a plating procedure. I sand blast the surfaces prior to the process. I then use the Duracoat epoxy process on a dry, clean, slightly warmed surface making the firearm nearly impervious to the elements.

 

Spiris

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Parkerizing is the first step in giving your steel surfaces a protective, rust preventative. Duracoat epoxy paint is then airbrushed over the parkerized surface to give an extra seal to the elements. Duracoat is available in many shades of color to customize to your personal touch. It is very tough and less prone to scratches compared to a blued surface. Some people like Duracoat, some don't. It works for me. Here's a Turk mauser with the stainless Duracoat over the parkerized steel that I made.

 

 

 

Spiris

post-237-1201566809_thumb.jpg

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As long as you expose bare metal, you can use any method at your disposal. Harbor freight has inexpensive sand blaster guns if you have an air compressor that can maintain good CFM levels. I use the play sand available at Lowes. Be aware that sand blasting will get into places that normal hand sanding cannot match. You absolutely have to have a super clean surface for the parkerizing solution to give you complete coverage. I drench the surfaces with brake cleaner spray prior to parkerizing.

 

Spiris

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I posted this once and it vanished into the same whole that swamprat's post went into. Anyway:

 

Spiris,

How are you preping the stuff before applying the Duracoat? I have some of that high temp no-bake stainless Duracoat that I'm going to put on the drag pipes on my wife's bike. I was planning on sanding what's left of the chrome, then hosing it all down with brake cleaner and spraying on the Duracoat with a detail gun.

 

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I'll try to address tronman's and Dr.Hess's questions as well as I can. First off, parkerizing is labor intensive as far as prepping the metal but it is a fairly easy process once that's done. tronman, I was faced with that question when I started toying with the idea. I found that solution trays are not cheap(i am) but found an article somewhere that dealt with just flushing the bare barreled action with parkerizing solution using a heated basin and standing the barreled action in it, or above it and carefully pour the solution from the top. I used the solution from Lauer, the makers of Duracoat but there are other brands available and I believe some on this site make their own mix. Directions say a 4 to 1 mix but I found 3 1/2 to 1 works better. I prep my barreled action and the smaller parts with emery cloth to smooth them out prior to sand blasting them. It's a personal preference thing to decide how smooth you want it with emery cloth and how fine the grit you finish with. I plug the barrel and chamber with good fitting dowels. I sandblast and clean with brake cleaner. You need to heat the parkerizing solution to about 190 degrees and maintain around that temp through the flushing procedure. I flush for about 10 minutes until that gray patina looks fairly even. I also start with the barrel warmed up by the sun or, in my case when it's cool, a kerosene torpedo heater. I toss the trigger guard and other small parts in the basin while I'm flushing the barreled action. I use a propane camping stove to heat the basin. I just use a plastic measuring cup to pour the solution down from the top. Just use a wire in the rear screw hole to support and control the barreled action. After you finish, flush the metal parts with water and wipe off if you like or place it where it will dry quickly. If the parts are going to be sitting for a few days, wipe it down with oil. Run a patch through the barrel to make sure you do not have any moisture in it. Just remember that you need to be super clean to spray the Duracoat and have it adhere properly. I try to combine the parkerizing with the finish coating and avoid the oil.

Dr.Hess, You may need to prime your pipes before coating with the stainless Duracoat. Smooth finishes like your pipes may be too slick for the paint to grab and if you rough the pipes up with sandpaper, it may show through the paint. With parkerizing, it seems to give the Duracoat something to bite, that's why I do not use a primer on the gun parts.

I hope that I helped.

 

Spiris

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Thanks, Spiris. The chrome on the pipes is about shot now, so that's why I want to SS Duracoat them. You would not believe what they want for drag pipes today, and as far as a re-chromer goes, forget it. Here's the bike:

bbms5.jpg

 

I converted it to fuel injection (home made computer) and welded the oxygen bung to the front pipe, so that tore up the chrome some too, but it was about shot after 19 years anyway. I also did the paint job on there. She wanted turquoise.

 

I have a AK project going too, one of these days when I get to it. I was planning on duracoating it. Do people paint (duracoat) the inside of the receivers or do they just leave them in the white? I don't want to mess with Parkerizing it, although your method seems like it would be the easiest way to do it.

 

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