Parkerizing Mark III receiver?

[Thorpedo]

Hello all, this is my first time posting but I love this forum! I am preparing to refinish my Mk III and will likely be using Duracoat. Since the prep is going to be the same either way (disassembly, blasting, degreasing, etc.), I would like to parkerize before the Duracoat for a longer lasting finish. My question is, while I know I need to plug the barrel, will I run into any problems parkerizing the receiver? With how tight the bolt/receiver fit is in these firearms, I don't want the rougher parked finish to cause issues. Has anyone here parked the entire receiver or does anyone have a solution I might not be considering? Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[rugerguy]

having used to doing both bluing, and parkerizing over the years, I have come to the point where we have found that even just a simple blasting of the metals finish to get the textrue ans then just black oxidizing has woked about the best , held up longer mlooked better and was easier to do...I "think" if one Duracoats this gives a coating that is more smooth,thus wipes out the effects of the rough, textured finish?? just my wondering......seems odd to rough it up , then smooth it out?? I am not a fan of coating as this does wear, interfers with opposing ,mating parts ( rubbing) and over the years we've seen others guns that were coated , in time, they did NOT look or hold up good,,,,yes, easy enough to redo, but why have to "redo" and do it often?? just my opinion as to NOT liking coating ( or even plating for that matter) I prefer the actual finish whether its matte, in blasting/bluing or phosphating , either Zinc or manganese ( color difference really, black/dark, versus grey,,,,)than add the fact that over the years except for the fact it is shiny, I have had lots of our guns (customers) done in Metalife SS as that held up even better,BUT for some is too shiny....and yes obviously stainless can and will rust/stain/tarnish.....................soooo its a matter of likes and opinions and we all have our own, as well as our favorites.Good luck
I would think you'd really have to ask the folks at Duracoat as to what will happen with their coating (finish) over the "finish" you suggest........we certainly never tried that one, a finish over a finish,sounds redundant.Parkerizing, the military has done over Rugers many, many times over the years.........

 

[TiteGroups]

I'd keep it out of the receiver unless you want to clean it back out. The finish on a mark3 would have to be pretty bad before I'd play with it. Stainless is the ultimate finish, it won't wear through, my conservative opinion.

 

[Frank in GA.]

H&K's are parked and then finished in the manner you are concidering. When it's done be sure not to apply the finish to the inside of the firearm as it will cause cycling problems. Exterior parking and coating is extremely durable. I have several magazines that I've had this done to and they have held up for over 10 years with almost no wear showing. They were parked and coated with a moly type finish inside and out and I've not had a any problems with them. The inside of a firearm has some pretty tight tolerances which I don't think would take kindly to the application of both parkerizing and coating. Just do one or the other on the inside of the firearm, outside is a different story.

 

[Precision32]

Plugging the bore is not a good idea. As the firearm comes up to temperature the plug can blow out.

I would think that bead blasting would be enough. Check the recommendations from the finish coating mfg.

 

[Thorpedo]

Thank you for the replies all! So as far as protecting the inside of the receiver while blasting/parking, does anyone know any good methods?

 

[contender]

Full disassembly will be best to insure proper refinishing, AND protection of parts that don't need refinishing.

 

[gb6491]

Hey there, we discussed some of this via PM, but here are a few thoughts for general discussion:
Parkerizing is done around 180-185 degrees F (at least the solution I use). I find it unlikely a properly fitted plug will "blow out" at those temps. That's not to say it's not impossible, but I certainly have not had it happen.
You can protect the inside of the receiver during blasting by inserting a properly sized dowel, rolled up paper, stuffing it with rags, etc. and using care while blasting. This will also work for painting. Speaking of which, painting would be the only way I know to protect it from the parkerizing solution without contaminating the solution. That said, I don't think it's really necessary (at least for parkerizing, paint is a different story because of it's thickness). I've parkerized two MKIIs and only painted (actually, finger nail polish) the feed ramps to shield them from the solution; both function fine post parkerizing.
The Rugers did require either massaging the process or post parkerizing treatment to get an even/close to even color. I say this because it seems the steel is different or heated treated differently between the barrel, receiver, and frame; thus they all react a little different to the solution which results in varying shades/color. Previously I would massage the process, but now i just dip them in a black oxide solution post parkerizing. The preceding is not a concern if you are painting over the parkerizing.
A lot of the "roughness" folks associate with parkerizing is from the surface preparation. Most often that prep is heavy abrasive blasting. Lighter blasting will yield a smoother finish.
If you are going to paint over the parkerizing, I suggest plugging the pin and screw holes. The sight cuts might also be a good idea. This will make reassembly much easier.
I'm with rugerguy, in that I prefer just "park" vice paint.
Here are some of my DIY parkerizing projects:

My latest

Regards,
Greg

 

[Thorpedo]

Gb6491 is the man! Thank you for all of your help via PM and here on the thread. I have gone from apprehensive to excited to tackle this project. I'll post pics ASAP. And yes, you all have convinced metro forego the paint