Almost white...

So, just a small update.

After a whole lot of hand sanding/tiny bit of filing, some of the pitting on the slide just can’t be removed short of taking a belt sander to it. That would result in losing some of the original markings. It is very minor pitting but also enough that it would not result in an optimum bluing job. That brings us to a new plan…
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A beer to the first one to correctly name this process.

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so you’re filling the pits?

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no idea on what your plan is, but can you show pics of how the surface looks currently?

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There were some spots under the grip panels and a few other flats where sandpaper just couldn’t cut deep enough without power tools(too high a risk of removing excess material quickly). Using a large and fine flat file leveled the metal surrounding the pitting to the point it is no longer as pronounced. Not enough material was removed to effect the dimensions of those areas, but it will aid in hiding the now minor blemishes when the new finish is applied. To give you an idea of how effective that method is you need to realize the the 100+ year old magazine below was quite literally rusted into the gun and by far the worst part of it.
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Ignore the current coloration as that is a result of being cleaned with phosphoric acid to neutralize any rust deeper in the metal and prevent any from forming while the magazine is ‘in the white’. Once sandblasted it will have a nice even mat surface for final refinishing.

Really? It is a finish you have done yourself, though I’m now guessing you bought a commercial solution. I will give you a hint. It is not as smooth a finish as bluing(better to cover minor imperfections) and requires a lot of oil once applied…

I’ll see if I can get some decent pics later. The imperfections are tiny and hard to get a good shot of with a cellphone camera.

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I know what MnO2 is. And I was going to say manganese parkerizing, I just never figured that etchant or primer would be a part of it.

But now I see. (Didn’t want to cheat and look it up before)

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Parkerizing solution is definitely one of those things you can home brew with good results. It is also something I am comfortable with having parked plenty of tools over my years spinning wrenches as well as automotive parts/hardware(bolts,brackets,etc) back in HS when restoring my auto shop teachers Mustang.

I could have bought ‘lab grade’ phosphoric acid but a qt cost as much as a gallon of the Klean-Strip stuff and really isn’t any different(maybe a tiny bit stronger). On the plus side I’ll end up with enough chemicals to make over a gallon of concentrate(8+ gallons of solution). Throw in a few empty bottles from Amazon and maybe I can recoup part of my costs by selling some off :crossed_fingers:.

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Nothing like cooking up some chemicals on a hot plate next to your wood pile. If I did this in my yard while still living in NJ my neighbors would have likely called the cops and told them I was making meth.

Formula was 16oz of Klean-strip concrete and metal prep(45% Phosphoric acid) to 8oz of distilled water with 3Tbs of Manganese Dioxide. The reason for the higher acid to water ratio is because the MnO2 often has a hard time breaking down.


Once the mixture came to a rolling boil, 1 biscuit of degreased steel wool was added. This step is actually NOT mandatory at this stage. The steel wool could be added to the official solution before parkerizing but I felt ‘seasoning’ the concentrate would aid in assuring the final solution worked better. I also should have used a slightly larger pot as the reaction almost caused the solution to boil over the top.

The steel wool began to break down surprisingly quick, actually faster than when I made parkerizing solution back in HS. I again attribute this to the higher acid content. This was only 2-3 minutes and every time I touched the steel wool with a spoon it simply fell apart and dissolved. Once there was no more steel wool, about 15 minutes, the hotplate was turned off and the pot covered to prevent evaporation.

After letting the concentrate cool and any solids to settle out, it was run through a coffee filter lined funnel into the bottle of remaining distilled water. We officially have manganese phosphate parkerizing solution

There was a little MnO2 remaining in the bottom of the pot, but not much. All the parts for this project are prepped, short of being sandblasted, and hopefully I’ll have some photos of the finished product soon.

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