Parkerizing wear
- Thread starter 124NATO
- Start date
If shot enough yes it will wear off eventually.
If you look at a fresh job done right even through a magnifiying glass you will see little sparkly triangles.
When the US went with it as a finish during WWII they had two requirements.
Non relflective and hold lubricant.
It excells at both.
In order to get the best park finish you can the metal surface not only needs to be super clean but a bit rough for fhe little trialgles to grab onto and grow during fhe cooking process.
If you are showing wear to bare steel I can bet you a 1/2 eaten donut that the metal exposed is smooth as glass from wear.
you can't just repark that without roughing it up 1st or it will not take adhesion.
When blasting for refinish you need to pay close attention to marking, stamps, & proofs since the media blasting does remove surface material to get the old stuff off and rough the surface for a new parkerizing cook to stick and grow to.
I always looked at it like growing those magic rocks from the 70's & 80's we all had.
It's also one reason the uzi gets a rather thick coat of real hard paint over the parkerizing.
Slicks it back up so parts & finish don't wear so fast.
I just had to break in a 1911 mag that was new with fresh park.
Was like loading the rounds through sandpaper.
Took thee loadings to get the gritty feeling out and the 1911 to feed the 1st round.
Imagine how much bolt drag the uzi has once it finally eats through the paint. Parked part on parked part.
Might as well rub two pieces of sandpaper together.
If you look at a fresh job done right even through a magnifiying glass you will see little sparkly triangles.
When the US went with it as a finish during WWII they had two requirements.
Non relflective and hold lubricant.
It excells at both.
In order to get the best park finish you can the metal surface not only needs to be super clean but a bit rough for fhe little trialgles to grab onto and grow during fhe cooking process.
If you are showing wear to bare steel I can bet you a 1/2 eaten donut that the metal exposed is smooth as glass from wear.
you can't just repark that without roughing it up 1st or it will not take adhesion.
When blasting for refinish you need to pay close attention to marking, stamps, & proofs since the media blasting does remove surface material to get the old stuff off and rough the surface for a new parkerizing cook to stick and grow to.
I always looked at it like growing those magic rocks from the 70's & 80's we all had.
It's also one reason the uzi gets a rather thick coat of real hard paint over the parkerizing.
Slicks it back up so parts & finish don't wear so fast.
I just had to break in a 1911 mag that was new with fresh park.
Was like loading the rounds through sandpaper.
Took thee loadings to get the gritty feeling out and the 1911 to feed the 1st round.
Imagine how much bolt drag the uzi has once it finally eats through the paint. Parked part on parked part.
Might as well rub two pieces of sandpaper together.
I’ve never seen a definitive answer on the best way to lube an Uzi (or any open bolt for that matter), but I usually put some oil on the bolt before each range session. Not sure it really does much though. I mostly shoot suppressed, and it turns to gunk pretty quickly. I think wear on the floor of the receiver is inevitable.
Here are pics of 2 different UZI SMGs. Both are in VG condition with low round counts.
And as you can see, both of them show wear from where the bolt rides.
Wear here is inevitable. Gravity + friction = wear. The more you shoot it, the shinier it will become. Even on never fired UZIs, wear can start to be seen just from cycling the bolt.
You can minimize wear to some extent (but not eliminate it entirely) by using lube. The problem with lube in an UZI (or any open bolt SMG) is that being a blowback design, it tends to "blow back" a lot of debris into the receiver when firing it. This tends to displace lube rather quickly, especially if it's just oil.
I use TW25b, which is a synthetic grease, on the wear areas and it tends to stay there longer.
This is great for typical range use, but if I was operating it in a dry, sandy outdoor environment, I probably would go with something else. Something that wouldn't attract sand and dust.
And as you can see, both of them show wear from where the bolt rides.
Wear here is inevitable. Gravity + friction = wear. The more you shoot it, the shinier it will become. Even on never fired UZIs, wear can start to be seen just from cycling the bolt.
You can minimize wear to some extent (but not eliminate it entirely) by using lube. The problem with lube in an UZI (or any open bolt SMG) is that being a blowback design, it tends to "blow back" a lot of debris into the receiver when firing it. This tends to displace lube rather quickly, especially if it's just oil.
I use TW25b, which is a synthetic grease, on the wear areas and it tends to stay there longer.
This is great for typical range use, but if I was operating it in a dry, sandy outdoor environment, I probably would go with something else. Something that wouldn't attract sand and dust.
Very true
I always use a Moly spray on the bolt ,receiver and top cover all thats needed when you are done is a rag and it all comes off except for the moly
oil attracts all the debris
I started using LSA in Nam and still think it's good stuff.
Another lube we had was Dri-Slide https://www.drislide.com/collections/weapons-lubricant-1
Basically Moly in a carrier that evaporates leaving the dry lubricant.
It's kinda messy until you get the hang of applying it. Trick is to apply a little to the gliding surfaces,
not so much that it looks like you dipped the weapon in it.
Arch is right about almost any oil being a crud and debris magnet. Learned that when we got an M-1 Carbine in
that would only fire as a single shot. Carbine gas pistons DO NOT like to be oiled.
Another lube we had was Dri-Slide https://www.drislide.com/collections/weapons-lubricant-1
Basically Moly in a carrier that evaporates leaving the dry lubricant.
It's kinda messy until you get the hang of applying it. Trick is to apply a little to the gliding surfaces,
not so much that it looks like you dipped the weapon in it.
Arch is right about almost any oil being a crud and debris magnet. Learned that when we got an M-1 Carbine in
that would only fire as a single shot. Carbine gas pistons DO NOT like to be oiled.
trilogymac
UZI Talk Supporter
Root touched on it above and it is important to me. Park before Ceracoat, Duracoat etc.. It seems like most "smiths" have gotten away from it because of convenience or not understanding the importance. If a smith doesn't park first, I'll find someone else to do the work. If you think about it, park gets in all the nooks and crannies, paint doesn't. This is especially needed if there is work done like aligning a trunnion or a new build. The good smiths that I know always park before paint.
You hit the nail on the head.
So many so-called "smiths" just spray the paint (ceracoat/duracoat) directly over bare metal. That's like a ticking time bomb.
Those baked coatings are very similar to powder coating in the automotive industry. And if you've ever been around anything powder coated, once it gets a scratch that goes through the coating (or the coating cracks), then that gives rust a foothold to spread. And spread it will.
Thing with those coatings is, the rust will grow under the coating and you won't likely notice it until the coating stats to flake off. And by then, the base metal is very corroded.
And if (when) this happens, you have no choice but to completely strip the coating and attempt to refinish it. And with these baked on finishes, that's very difficult.
These coatings are not like paint where you can just sand an area and then touch it up. So if you're going to go with one of these coatings, the bare minimum is to make sure you park the metal before applying it.
Personally, I prefer just regular bbq spray paint over park. It's easy to touch up when it starts to show wear and there's no danger of rust growing under the paint.
There's a reason high end manufacturers do something, and it's best to copy their work. Military UZIs were parked and most other contracts and civy ones (samples and semis) are all paint over park. If they thought ceracoating over bare metal was a great idea, they'd be doing it.
Convenience, it's all about convenience.
Not sure why because Parkerizing is a simple process, unlike hot bluing. Heck, you can do parking on the kitchen stove-- if the wife's not home.
Stainless steel pan, Parkerizing solution, candy thermometer to make sure your solution stays between 180 to 200 deg F, a bead blaster to clean the parts down to bare metal, and gloves is pretty much all you need.
A couple of cautions:
Hot bluing is dipping the parts into a boiling lye solution whereas Parkerizing is dipping the parts into a near boiling acid solution. equally nasty; just on opposite ends of fhe pH scale.
Second, Don't try to sneak mom's stainless steel pot back into the cupboard-- parkerized food tastes bad,
although you won't corrode after a Parkerized Pulled-Pork Po-Boy.
Not sure why because Parkerizing is a simple process, unlike hot bluing. Heck, you can do parking on the kitchen stove-- if the wife's not home.
Stainless steel pan, Parkerizing solution, candy thermometer to make sure your solution stays between 180 to 200 deg F, a bead blaster to clean the parts down to bare metal, and gloves is pretty much all you need.
A couple of cautions:
Hot bluing is dipping the parts into a boiling lye solution whereas Parkerizing is dipping the parts into a near boiling acid solution. equally nasty; just on opposite ends of fhe pH scale.
Second, Don't try to sneak mom's stainless steel pot back into the cupboard-- parkerized food tastes bad,
although you won't corrode after a Parkerized Pulled-Pork Po-Boy.
I would add that when parkerizing, even if you do it outside (which I would recommend), wear a respirator. I haven't looked into it, but I am sure the fumes from parkerizing are bad to breathe.
When I first started doing it, I noticed how bad they were right away and have worn a respirator ever since. I can only imagine that the fumes from evaporating acid are harmful to your lungs.
When I first started doing it, I noticed how bad they were right away and have worn a respirator ever since. I can only imagine that the fumes from evaporating acid are harmful to your lungs.
Always a good tip, Chef.
Some stuff continues or starts to react once it meets with moisture; like in your airways or lungs or even just on the skin.
No matter how "simple" or DIY the process; safety gear like masks, respirators, eye and hearing protection should be a given.
Most everybody knows how smoke from a campfires seems to follow you around due to air currents and eddying;
the same applies with fumes and gasses. Even outdoors you can occasionally get a whiff that makes your eyes water.
Some stuff continues or starts to react once it meets with moisture; like in your airways or lungs or even just on the skin.
No matter how "simple" or DIY the process; safety gear like masks, respirators, eye and hearing protection should be a given.
Most everybody knows how smoke from a campfires seems to follow you around due to air currents and eddying;
the same applies with fumes and gasses. Even outdoors you can occasionally get a whiff that makes your eyes water.
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trilogymac
UZI Talk Supporter
This is my understanding!!
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