Refinishing/finishing

[jonathon]

Hey guys,

I'm curious, what would be the best/easiest way to refinish a part? Blueing or Parkerizing?

I'd like to do it myself, so I'm curious what all is involved? Any good reading I can do?

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

[Azrael256]

If you're desperate to do it yourself, there are a limited number of finishes you can practically do at home. You can cold blue almost anything, but I prefer to leave cold bluing for touch-up jobs. Presto Black and Aluma Black are pretty good finishes, but they're unpopular. I think cost has the most to do with that. There are a few other bake-on coating finishes, but you'll need a dedicated oven for those, and I have seen few positive results from them.

The real problem is that most finishing requires a great deal of heat and some rather unpleasant chemicals. Parkerizing isn't a difficult process, but it involves dropping the part into a vat of boiling phosphoric acid laced with zinc or manganese. It is certainly not out of reach of a dedicated hobbyist, but it's a bit much for a first-timer just doing one pistol.

The other option is electroplating. Again, it wouldn't be super difficult to build a rig in the garage to do it, but it's a stretch. You'd have to plate the piece with copper and then plate the copper with nickel. There is an electroless nickel process, but I'm not familiar with how it works.

For my money (and time), if it's more than a touch-up job, I send it off to have somebody else do it.

[Hawkmoon]

I've been very happy with the results I've gotten using Brownell's Oxpho-Blue (cold bluing liquid).

[John]

And when are we going to see the test of the KG GunKote??

[gottripletsNC]

I used the spray-on gunkote and was satisfied for a short term fix, before I send the weapon back to Springfield to have it completely refinished. Gunkote chips too much especially at the edges.

[jonathon]

Parkerizing is what interests me most, I think I'd get the most use out of it, sure beats spraying engine paint on an AK build...

Most definatly wouldn't be for one gun. Think parkerizing would be a better finish for a hobbyist? I don't care much about looks, but rather protection...

[Hawkmoon]

I can't imagine trying to get into Parkerizing as a hobbyist. I think Gun Kote (or any of the "Kotes") would provide better protection, and not require an extensive setup with toxic chemicals.

[jonathon]

Does gun kote work very good? Their sales pitch says so, but I'd be curious if that is the case?

[gottripletsNC]

As with anything else, the prep work is the key to the outcome, parkerizing can be tricky, because if it isnt cleaned then the parkerizing wont be even, if you leave it in the solution too long, the parkerizing will eat into the metal too much. Springfield told me if I sent them my full size they would repark it for 55 dollars, then of course is shipping, but for that cost, I believe I will just pay them instead of trying it myself. And I think the bead blast bluing was quoted to me at 80 dollars.

[John]

It shouldn't be that difficult to do parkerizing in your garage (or kitchen). Here, have a look:

http://www.blindhogg.com/parkerizing.html

Another useful link.

http://www.phosphatesolutions.com/

[bearboy]

Again Hawkmoon is right oxpho-blue is an excellent product not only for touch-up but complete pieces.I did a Remington slide with it by draw filng the dents out then sanding down from 220 grit to a final polish with worn 600 grit.I then went over the entire slide with the blue rubbing it in first with cotton balls then 0000 steel wool.Probably did it 15 or 20 times.Two gunsmiths have seen it one a professional bluer. Neither wanted to believe it was a cold blue.If i did one again i would #1 wear rubber gloves.#2 put something over the carpet in my work area and#3 heat the parts either with hot water or in the oven at 150 degrees or so.Good luck.

[shoe1966]

I have used all of the products spoken of and have even done allot of caustic bluing while I was in the Marine Corps and now working for them as a civilian. By far the easiest method spoken of would be KG Gun Kote, all you need for that is a good digresser, air brush and oven. Preparation is the key and following the directions, I have used it on more than 10 1911's and a few AR rifles and have not had any chipping there is normal wear just as with any finish. Parking would be the next, you will need a stainless steel pot, hot plate, some way to measure temperature and a way to sand plast the parts. The sand plasting is what make parking more expensive. I do some parkerizing at home, I will sand plast the parts at work and take them home to park them. I have a large stainless stew pot the I use to do it in. I would not recommend caustic bluing for a hobbist, it is costly and because the salts have to be heated to 380 degrees it can be hazardous. If you have any question you can e-mail me and I will try to answer them. Best of luck.

[jonathon]

Thanks all!

I will try out Gun Kote in the areosol can from Brownells, going to try my Glock first since it's ugly no matter what I do ;) Good way to show how it holds up too.. it is a well used weapon.

[gottripletsNC]

brownells gun kote in aerosol is what I used, just as a temporary fix after doing some mods to cover up bare steel, anywhere there is the possibility of friction the stuff came off very soon after, and corners on my slide stop, and thumb safety quickly came off, mite have been prep, but i followed as per the instructions.

maybe you will have better luck, but I didn't, I also didn't quite like the overall finish, it looks well painted, but it is temporary, until I send it back to Springfield for a repark.

[Phil]

It shouldn't be that difficult to do parkerizing in your garage (or kitchen). Here, have a look:Wow, John....living in Greece really does force you to be resourceful when it comes to guns.... :D