PARKERIZE THAT MG-42

[machinegunbob]

I recently pakerized one of my MG-42's. First off, if you don't remove the recouperator, you will wish that you did. Heat and park soluton sludge really gum them up bad (I didn't, and had to buy another recouperator rather than try to clean mine). The heat probably takes some of the temper out of the springs, too. At first I looked for a giant stainless steel park tank. I could not find one. I took the advice from the instructions that came with the Brownell's park solution and expanded on the idea. I went to Home Depot and bought a ten foot section (that's the only length they had) of scedule 40 PVC (white plastic) pipe, and two end caps. I also bought cleaner and glue. I cut the pipe about six inches longer than my MG-42. I glued one end cap on and let it completely dry. Then I drilled a 1/8" vent hole in the other end cap. I filled the pipe with water (to measure how much water it would hold, I filled it with one gallon jugs and kept track of how many gallons it took to fill). I dumped the water out of the pipe into my big kettle on the stove (outside). (One of those turkey broilers would work perfect). I added the proper amount (and 20% extra) of the Brownell's parkerizing solution (buy the gallon jug). While the solution is heating up on the stove, lash the pipe to a fence post, or something else that is stable, and you don't care if it gets splashed with boiling hot park acid. Get a steel coat hanger and put it thru the muzzle end of the weapon, so you can pick it up by the coat hanger. Wear rubber gloves, a rubber apron, a resperator, a face shield, and just about every piece of personal protective equipment that you own. When the park solution starts to boil, dump it into the empty tube, until it is four inches from the top. (Remember that you cut the tube six inches LONGER than the gun?). Pick up the gun by the coat hanger and QUICKLY lower it down into the tube full of boiling hot park solution. Remove the coat hanger. Put the end cap (with 1/8" vent hole in it) over the end of the tube. Wait until it is COMPLETELY COOL. Unless it is winter, this will take several hours, at least. It should look nice when you re-attach the coat hanger and pull it out. If you want it darker, just add a few more cupfulls of park solution to the mixture, re-heat it, and do it again. You have to relize that wherever you welded the reciever it is going to take parkerizing differently than the original metal did. (usually darker). After I was done with mine I took it to the do-it-youself car wash place (with a handful of quarters and a piece of junk carpeting) and pressure-washed all of that funky scale that you get when you park stuff off of it. I used the park job as a "primer coat" for the (Brownell's again) baking laquer. I did one gun in black, and one in green (to match the Lafeyette tripod). But I can't fit the MG's into my oven to bake the laquer on. Now I need to talk Alfredo into letting me put two MG-42's into his Blodgett pizza oven. Pizza that tastes like an MG-42?
I wonder if Hitler and Mussolini ever tried that?
MGB

[carlque]

THAT's GREAT!! thanks for shareing!! That should be a STICKY!! MODs where are you!!!LOL!

[machinegunbob]

A sticky? I really don't know much about how these chat things work. I know quite a lot about how machine guns work, though. Sorry for doing something the wrong way.
MGB

[Bil]

At last-someone that knows less about computers than me!Now if I only knew more about machine guns! Thanks for the info,Bob. ---bil

[mgfun]

This idea is fantastic, convenient and hopefully works well. A very good thread.

I do have a questiion though. My understanding is that parkerizing is an etching type process and that lengthy exposure will etch close tolerance parts too much. I have read that 20 minutes is the longest that a part should be parked. I would imagine the reaction quickly slows as the fluid temperature decreases through time - but that is just an assumption. This idea is based on the retained heat doing the trick perfectly. It's kind of uncontrolled (or at least is set on auto-pilot).

Did you find the standard parking method provided the same/similar coloring as the tube dunking?

Did you notice any evidence of etching or excess material remoaval?

How dark would you rate your first dunking product to be?

Still, it seems very cool to do for long items.
Regards,
mgfun

[CRUSADER]

This Thread Is Useless Without Pictures!!!!

[machinegunbob]

Crusader - I thought that I explained it well enought that pictures were not needed. I have never posted pictures yet because of a resoulution problem that I will (hopefully) figure out how to get around soon. It's just a piece of scedule 40 pipe from Home Depot with some hot park solution in it.

[CRUSADER]

Hey brother - I get your instructions. They are perfectly understandable. You did a great job with that part.

I wanna see how your blaster turned out!

[machinegunbob]

MGFUN - Parkerizing adds one or two thousands of an inch to the surface. If you have bead blasted the surfaces (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED), you have probably removed a few thousands of and inch, so the final part will probably be within one thousands of an inch from where you started out. This porus addition retains oil real well. Once the weapon is re-assembled, oil it up real heavy with some 20-w-50 Mobile 1 synthetic car motor oil. (do not oil anything if you plan on Duracoating the gun)! Any surfaces that have recieved too much parkerizing will wear the park off after the first few hundred rounds. MG- 42's. AK-47's, ect. have been engineered with such great amounts of clearance (slop), that adding a thousands, or two won't hurt anything. ( be sure to remove the recouperator - never heat springs). If you buy some Brownell's Parkerizing solution, read the instructions carefully. They will even send you the instructions for free if you call them and ask for them. 90% of parkerizing is actually bonded to the steel within the first two or three minutes. One of their customers came up with the idea of putting long parts into the bottom of a plastic box. I just modified someone else's idea to work on an MG 42. If you park something in a regular stainless steel pot, look real closely at it when you put it in (wear a resperator!). As soon as you put it into the 210 degree F. solution, the solution starts to fizz (lots of small bubbles) but within a few minutes, the fizzing stops. At this point, the chemical reaction has all but ceased. You can leave it in the (almost) boiling solution for another week, and it won't really have any more park on it than it did after it stopped fizzing within the first few minutes. Like I stated before, it will probably turn out an uneven color, unless you are using a newly manufactered ( Wise Lite) reciever. Where you welded the pieces back together, the weld will take the park differently than the rest of the reciever. MG-42's, and Yugo M-53 receivers are made out of a steel that RESEMBLES spring steel (I know that it really isn't spring steel) but it is definetly not the same alloy as what you are going to weld with, thus the different shades of gray. Park solution is a fantastic "primer" for Duracoat. Brownell's sells it in rattle cans for a decent price. Just to be on the safe side, buy two cans for coating one gun. Three cans will easily do two guns. Disassemble the main parts to park/ Duracoat. I used their green for the MG that I put on the Lafeyette tripod. Brownell's green does not match the tripod's green exactly, but it looks good with them both the same color. Spray it green, then tape some maple leaves on it and re-spray it with tan, black, or gray. The leaves will be green, and the rest will be your main color. The one that I am chopping down will be matte black. This whole process is to protect your guns from getting rusty, and to help the surfaces retain oil. Trying to make a belt-fed machine gun pretty is just not something that interests me. I want to be able to take them out in the rain and snow, and not end up with a bucket of rust. Don't worry about over-parkerizing something. I doubt that you could, even if you tried.
MGB

[CRUSADER]

Once again - more outstanding info!

[PvtJoker]

And if you are REALLY concerned about the temp drop in the tube, why not wrap it on the outside with a layer of insulation? That should help reduce the heat transfer, at least long enough for the process to finish effectively.

[Pirate]

parkerizing is a chemical process that grows crystals of either zinc or manganese phosphate on the surface of steel. it is a microscopically thin coating that is wear resistant and retains oil when properly done. it is extremely important to follow the manufacturers instructions when mixing and using the solution, as well as maintaining the proper temperature. for the best results a fine crystal structure is the most desireable. leaving steel parts in an acid bath longer than necessary is detrimental to the parts, so they should be removed and neutralized as soon as the reaction is done. the result of improper post treatment is rusty gunk oozing out of layered parts of a receiver.

f

[redrivertactical]

pirate could you please pm me a total for having both semi bolt mods and gripstick conversions done. I will be sending the parts and i have the ar fcg? thank you sir.

[PvtJoker]

parkerizing is a chemical process that grows crystals of either zinc or manganese phosphate on the surface of steel. it is a microscopically thin coating that is wear resistant and retains oil when properly done. it is extremely important to follow the manufacturers instructions when mixing and using the solution, as well as maintaining the proper temperature. for the best results a fine crystal structure is the most desireable. leaving steel parts in an acid bath longer than necessary is detrimental to the parts, so they should be removed and neutralized as soon as the reaction is done. the result of improper post treatment is rusty gunk oozing out of layered parts of a receiver.

f

With all that in mind, would the basic idea of using a PVC tube as a temp tank for the 15 minutes or so that the reaction typically takes still be functional, as long as it was insulated well enough to retain the heat which COULD be tested using boiling water and a thermometer to see how long the tube would retain heat once insulated, and maybe even using an oven or maybe a propane area heater to heat the receiver up before dipping it into the solution to keep it from cooling too fast for the reaction to work? Perhaps even a second tube as a rinse, with a pinch of baking soda mixed in to neutralize the acid, if that is an issue?

[Pirate]

PVC makes an excellent tank for parking. the main thing is to keep the solution at the proper temperature during the process. I always pre heat parts in boiling water before putting them in the tank. as for neutralizing them plain boiling water will do the trick. when mixed properly the park solution is a fairly weak acid solution and will rinse away in the hot water. whgen use at the proper heat and concentration the parts will come out of the bath clean with no scaling or sooting. All the solutions I have used stress the importance of maintaining the proper temperature during the process.

[machinegunbob]

I suppose the way that I parkerize in the PVC pipe probably isn't the right way to do it. I have no idea as to the temperature. I never insulated the pipe. I just figured that 90% of the park is being applied during the first ten minutes, or so. I suppose I should remove the reciever after the first ten, or fifteen minutes, but with very little equipment to work with, it's just easier to deal with acid when it isn't really hot. I've burned the crap out of myself before, and inhaling the fumes from super hot acid really sucks. By leaving the reciever in the solution until it cools, is that why my park solution seems to "wear out" prematurely? I only use the parkerizing as a "primer coat" for Duracoating. The park doesen't take the same where the reciever sections have been welded together. I flunked chemistry!
MGB

[Bil]

You are like the bumblebee-no-one has told him that it is impossible for him to fly with those little wings,so he does!I say if it works for you,do it! ---bil

[machinegunbob]

bil - I like your way of looking at stuff.
If it works, can I really be doing it wrong?
Hell, no one ever taught me how to screw.
Maybe I've been doing that wrong, too.
I'll have to ask the wife.................
MGB

[flemgunner]

Trust me she would have told you by now

[machinegunbob]

It looks like an over-under.
Rifle on top.
Shotgun on bottom.
She complains all the time.
No scope.
Bad aim.
OUCH!
MGB