Bolt, to park or not to park....

[Bulletguide]

I got a great bolt last week from Phil, beautiful LEAD silver finish -12 bolt. Mirror finish, done really well. A bit too silver for my receivers though. So I had a tough call
to make, strip this one down or leave it. Finally decided to give it a bath.

I had to do at least as well as the armory, their work is perfect, the finish was almost too good to touch. But to use it, I had to try. So, after a lot of prep (it's all in the prep anyway),
I had the middle bolt, in the white. It was as close as you can get to a bolt fresh from the machine shop. I might have used Manganese but was out so decided to try Zinc. I'm
fairly happy with the results. The mirror finish was preserved and it will now fit any number of receivers well, as long as they are not charcoal black....

I had to wait for the wifey (here-after to be referred to as She Who Must Be Obeyed) to leave so I could try the little trick Phil mentioned- (he found it somewhere on another forum I believe)
of immediately wiping the bolt fresh out of the bath with really green olive oil. This idea did not go over well with my supervisor (SWMBO) so had to wait for her to leave on an errand....
and the results were tasty but not green... have not given up on the idea but confidence is low at this point. May have to settle for darker gray. Anyway, I'm ok with the results, it will
work well. Plus the fumes make by back ache less.
Bruce

[Phil McGrath]

I was just passing on what another person had tried and they swear by it. Its worth a try if its safe in this case it didn't work nothing ventured nothing gained. That bolt came in a LEAD H&R rifle that I picked up along the way, I scrounged a H&R bolt for it and had the rifle refinished back too manganese as that was all that was need too make it correct, maybe? So I've had the bolt in my parts box for 10-15? years. LEAD is known for there ghostly/silverish park. I think its the type of media and the pressure that they used that gives such fine results in there finish. If picture #3 is your finished color I like it much better its more of a true gray and too me it now looks much better after, than it did before.

Next question where is the rest of the rifle?

[Bulletguide]

I just mentioned the olive oil as an interesting sideline, it would be great to have a way to predictably produce that greenish tint when desired, it was worth a try, I do think the freshly
parkerized finish, right out of the bath, is somewhat sensitive to the oil application and, perhaps, what type of oil. The surface really soaks up the oil, after I rub it in with a cloth I actually work it into the surface with my fingers, assuring a complete saturation of the parkerization of the metal with oil. Seems like more of an important part of the process than you might think.

I do like the color, it's a good excuse to start looking for a receiver to start another build, maybe one that needs a new finish. I can then match bolt to receiver easily. So, we'll see if I can
find one and get started. Have a good WWII barrel so I think I'll do what I said I wasn't going to do after my last build, do it again.
But you were right in describing that bolt as having a mirror finish, LEAD really prepped it well. I use a 50 micron media with an air brush for small parts, it provides a very similar surface to the one on that bolt.

[Pfc Thomas]

Reparking seems to be a crap shoot sometimes. I use "fine" glass beads to blast the metal to get a clean sub-straight aka metal surface that the park solution will work on. I use the Brownell"s products the zinc for WWII M1's and 1911's & Black maganize on everything else. I get mix results though I prep and finish the same each time. I have had bolts come out black as sin and green gray as an aged WWII M1,but trig housings&op rods blackish gray(black mag finish). Doing some parking as we speak and will let you know tomorrow how it turns out.

[Bulletguide]

Yes, please post results, I find the same thing, parkerizing is a bit of a guess, at least to me, and I think it may have to due with the type and hardness of the metal, how it was treated
when first made etc. Technique as well, of course. I'm sure in the process of cleaning, whether it be glass media or whatever, some of that surface hardness may be affected thought I'm sure we're talking microns in depth of finish prep unless you use some really abrasive technique. If anyone knows the depth the hardness treating goes I'd be interested in knowing that.

Brownells's has been a pretty good product for Zinc and Manganese for me as well. I find that the pre-heat of the metal
affects color as well. But as you said, one group will take on a really dark color while a bolt, for example, will be much lighter. Just don't expect much from a gas cylinder, I'm sure you
are aware of that. Stainless has to be treated completely differently. Explains the surface texture of all gas cylinders. I have seen several WWII photos of original M1's with very light
gas cylinders so they must have treated them much like other parts and left that light color for the first Garands. GI's would boot-black those surfaces to keep reflection of light down. I've read of some attempts to bake a finish on that surface, but they eventually came up with a way to produce a consistent finish color that was dark.

[m14brian]

I believe this is the thread you are looking for, bulletguide, that has PFC Thomas's parkerizing. There are pics posted in it.
m14brian

http://www.m1garandforum.com/forum/t...ack-in-the-day

[Bulletguide]

Yes, that's it. Very nice work. A finish like that is the result of a lot of prep time, and good technique. I've had good luck producing colors I like with both the Manganese and Zinc preparations
available. Sometimes it seems that the color has to do more with how many items have gone through the solution than anything else. Probably partially true but it seems that way to me.
I really enjoy seeing photos of the work others do, good inspiration to keep trying.
-Bruce

[Pfc Thomas]

I agree with you a 100% on prep,detail in prep and HAVING EVERYTHING CLEAN. I lay out everything that needs parking in an order,small parts first,med size parts and finally barreled action last. The reason is I can see how solution and metal prep are reacting. Easier to redo small parts and if they look nice the rest will to. When I refresh the solution with new park I use steel wool that has been clean washed of oil. By parking steel wool its seasoning the solution assuring its ready. I do this with both the manganese&zine. The maddening part of this is we are own worst critic and one seems to be "picking the fly sh== out of the pepper".
Pfc out

[Bulletguide]

That is so true. I pick apart my own work to the point of frustration, it's never good enough. Sometimes it's ok to just leave well enough alone. But that's a lesson I find hard to learn...
Good comments Pfc.

[Hawk]

Once parkerized and prior to oiling, brush on a 50/50 mixture of cosmolene and acetone. This will turn the park greenish. after drying, add the protective oil to it.

[lapriester]

I trick that works to darken Park is a very short dip in Caswell's stainless blackener. Very short the key. You'll see an immediate darkening in a few seconds, remove and rinse in a distilled water bath and immediately post treat with WD or post park oil treatment. Never seen it fail yet

[Keturah]

I do like the color, it's a good excuse to start looking for a receiver to start another build, maybe one that needs a new finish. I can then match bolt to receiver easily. So, we'll see if I can football betting guide find one and get started.

[CCyooper]

If you want to freshen up on your techniques and understand how the army did it and what solutions and methods used read TM 9-1861.