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Rusted Nuts STORY AND PHOTOS BY FREDERICK FORTUNE Home-brew Parkerizing Achieving the proper patina takes patience and practice

Parkerizing is a method of protecting a 2. Powdered Dioxide (a surface from and increas- very dense and heavy dark gray to black ing its resistance to wear through the ap- mineral powder) also available at any plication of a chemical . chemical supply house. It was perfected in the U.S. around the 3. Distilled water (I use tap water, but turn of the century and primarily used for the distilled supposedly gives more consis- arms and armaments in the military be- tent results). cause of its durability, part-to-part lubrica- 4 A biscuit of fine steel wool 000 or tion qualities and its resultant ability to 0000...don’t use soap pads or Brillo™ pads! 4. Now add your biscuit of steel wool. stand up to adverse climate conditions. I do this on a portable electric heating The steel wool will bubble and froth as it What it also does is provide a dark, element using a one-gallon porcelain coat- slowly dissolves. If your pot is too full of beautiful, protective surface for small ed metal cooker. I’m told a Pyrex bowl water, it may bubble over the sides. parts that rivals the weather resistance of would work better but they are expensive Critical: The part(s) to be Parkerized more expensive plating or coating tech- and breakable. Uncoated metal pots ap- should be totally “de-greased” and wire niques such as cad plating and anodizing. parently won’t work as well (if at all). You brushed, sand or bead blasted prior to fin- Many early motorcycle components were will also need a thermometer to gauge the ishing depending on the texture you desire Parkerized as an inexpensive alternate to water temperature. While you’re picking on the finished part. Once you have nickel, cadmium or later chrome plating. up the chemicals, the same supply house cleaned the part, you should handle it with Unfortunately the process cannot be used should have those inexpensive 12” long lab gloves, never greasy hands, and store it on non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, thermometers. wrapped in clean paper towels awaiting , or . Nor can it be applied to Proceed as follows: the Parker bath. Any grease or “patina” on containing a large amount of nickel, 1. Use one whiskey jigger of Phosphoric the parts or wire will cause a variation in or to or chrome. Everything Acid per gallon of water. ALWAYS add color...the parts will come out streaked else is fair game. the acid to the water, and it is best done and/or spotted. Be aware, too, that high You need a number of things to do home- by pouring it down a glass rod. carbon or special alloy steels will not brew Parkerizing, but only 4 ingredients. 2. Add one whiskey jigger of the pow- “take” evenly. The only way to tell is to try. 1. Pure (85% Solu- dered Manganese Dioxide per gallon of Place a wooden stick across the top of tion), the active ingredient in rust re- water to the solution. the pot and suspend the parts in the solu- movers, usually procured at a chemical 3. Bring the solution to an extremely tion using steel or wire. DO NOT use supply house. A 500ml container costs slow rolling boil. Best results are at or just painted coat hangers or any wire with $35-$50. under the boiling point. grease on it! I’ve also just carefully plunked

Before After

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them in and stirred them around as they but I’ve been too impatient to wait. Hav- though there is no great odor to the bubble with similar results. ing the part warm as possible is best be- process that I can tell. Just use common The parts should be totally immersed cause things contract when they cool. sense, wear gloves and eye protection any- in the solution, knowing that anywhere Soak a clean rag in any type of clean time you are playing around with chemicals. the wire touches the part or the part motor oil and apply to the part, working 2. Be very careful not to cause any rests against the container will not be- the oil into the dark grey coating. Watch splashes with the boiling solution. come coated or may take a different as the part takes on a deep, lustrous 3. Prepare your area and your parts tone. If you can’t cover them completely, charcoal black color. Let it rest and com- before hand, don’t try to do this on the turn them over continuously or, with an pletely cool down. When totally cool, take spur of the moment. old squeeze baster, baste them like a another clean rag and completely wipe 4. Once you have allowed the solution turkey. down the part. A microscopic film of oil to cool, you are done! Re-heating simply I usually let the part remain in the so- will remain embedded in the coating mak- doesn’t work. Have everything that you lution for a total of 30 minutes (shorter ing the part virtually waterproof and rust want to Parkerize ready to go when you times results in a lighter color, longer = resistant. Bolts and nuts will stand up to fire up the solution. You can keep Parker- darker). If you didn’t suspend the part on gentle wrenching without scratching, izing as long as the solution is hot, but for wire, gently fish it out with clean pliers or though they will scratch if roughly treat- some reason allowing it to get cold kills it wooden tongs. When you withdraw the ed. If scratched, sometimes a swipe of ...you’ve have to brew up a new solution part, immediately rinse it in hot running oil will heal the wound. and start over from scratch. water to remove the solution. If you use For more on the history and science of 5. If the surface is mottled, uneven or extremely hot water the already heated Parkerizing, visit here: spotty it wasn’t clean enough. You must part will dry itself. Let it dry, getting cool http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parkerizing start over with clean, raw steel, wire enough to touch, on some clean paper Several caveats: brushed and/or sandblasted...no rust, towels. 1. Always be careful of any sort of acid, paint or oil film. The next part is magic. You can do it even such an innocuous one as phosphoric. Use at your own risk. Your mileage may minutes or, as far as I know, hours later I never deliberately inhale the fumes al- vary. IW

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