Looking for a hobbyist in the Lehigh Valley region to do a parkerizing job

I have an old, beat up, Remington Rand 1911A1 from WWII and Korea that's badly in need of parkerizing to prevent more rust and pitting.

If there's a hobbyist nearby who does parkerizing and could help me out on this, I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Before anyone asks, this poor pistol has not been maintained and is in sorry shape. It has no collector value.

Post some pictures before you think a WWII 45 has no value. By the time you pay for a half assed repark you could have sold it as is and bought a new shiny rock river .45.

If it is Gi and can shoot I (and many others) would give you $300 without looking at it.

Parkerizing not really a hobby kind of thing like cold blueing.

It sure is a hobby thing. You can get the chemicals from Brownell’s. I almost did it and still might. More common in the surplus gun builder community. Might find someone local on the 1919A4 forum.

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Originally Posted by JoshIronshaft

Might find someone local on the 1919A4 forum.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll follow up on that forum.

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Originally Posted by JoshIronshaft

It sure is a hobby thing. You can get the chemicals from Brownell*s. I almost did it and still might. More common in the surplus gun builder community. Might find someone local on the 1919A4 forum.

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You can also almost get $2k of hot blueing stuff from them as well. :rolleyes:

Check with coat of arms gun coatings. He’s more north but I think he does parkerizing.

You really should post some pics before you refinish it. Do you want this as a WWII collectible or do you just want a nice looking 45?

Home parkerizing a pistol is simple. All you need are the chemicals, a stainless steel pot and a turkey fryer. Put in the degreased parts, boil for 1/2 hour, take them out and rinse, then oil them. The real work is properly preparing the parts before the park stage. Don't go with the cheapest quote since they will just buff it to hell on a wheel, remove most markings and round the edges. Very few gunsmiths will hand sand a pistol on a flat surface since it takes hours if you do it right. Another option is for you to do the exterior prep yourself. There is a better chance you would keep the lines straight and make a better decision on how much of the pitting to remove vs the markings.

Another option is to remove the active rust by scrubbing with a sharp brass edge then just keep the pistol oiled and be happy. Its won't rust when properly maintained. If you have to you can even touch up some of the parts with Brownells Oxopho-blue. It is the best match for park and is good for touching up small shiny spots..

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Originally Posted by Delkal

You really should post some pics before you refinish it.

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Will do.

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Do you want this as a WWII collectible . . .

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I carried WWII and earlier 1911s during my time as a tanker in the Army ('70s & '80s) so am well aquainted with them. This is not a collectible. I will be replacing the sear, disconnector, firing pin, slide stop, barrel bushing, and extractor with brand new EGW parts. I will also be fitting a new Kart barrel and replacing all the springs with new Wolff springs. The reason for doing all this is because the original parts are rusted, pitted, and worn to the point that the pistol is unsafe to shoot. Honestly, it's not worth the money that'll be spent to bring it to firing condition but it has sentimental value.

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Home parkerizing a pistol is simple.

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Thanks for the information. I had considered setting up my little hobby room to do parkerizing but I could not in good conscience justify the very modest cost involved. I can cold blue it myself for about $30 and was hoping I could find someone who would park it for about the same price.

The barrel was the first part that I soaked in Evapo-Rust for days to remove the rust. What's left is the pitting. The frame. slide, mainspring housing, and trigger are now soaking so no pictures of them yet. When I tried to clean the inside of the barrel the patches would get caught on the rough surface. After lots of staring down the barrel with a bright light and Optivisor I determined there was no way I'd put a live round through it. It looks like something that was pulled out of the ocean near Iwo Jima after fifty years.

https://i.imgur.com/iG9IZWJ.jpg


https://i.imgur.com/2wLWnVT.jpg