parkerizing question

[bmh]

I picked up some parts that were nicely re-parkerized, the problem is the person I bought them from had them just tossed in an old milk crate. As a result some of them have some scratches that go down to the base metal, otherwise they are very nice. Some of these mars will not be seen but will start to rust if left the way they are. So do I need to completely strip them back to bare metal and re-parkerize or can I just lighly prep the scuffs and toss em back in the soup?

[Chris Haynes]

Give the parts a bath in Muriatic acid then re-Parkerize them.

[bmh]

Thanks Chris

[Glenn]

what is the best parkerizing kit to use for my 50 pan project

and also what is the best way to prep all the parts to get done.
i have my own media blaster and also access to a commercial blaster.


heading to Chicago for the 8th thru 11 and want to start when I get back

tia

[exeric]

I just Parkerized all the parts for an off-set springer. I glass beaded most of it and wire brushed other parts. I first cleaned the parts in lacquer thinner, then washed them in hot soapy water, then acid dipped them in muratic acid, and finally neutralized them in a baking soda bath. I used latex gloves to avoid oily fingerprints while I went through the cleaning process. I bought my Parkerizing solution on ebay and it works fine. Cleaning is everything. . . The Parkerizing process itself is like boiling an egg.

[23JDCA 808]

There are some good past discussions on parkerizing here. Use the search feature. ...bill in oregon

[T. Cotten]

Just a reminder:
Real parkerizing did not match over the entire H-D machine, even before it was stained with oil or preservatives.

...Cotten

[exeric]

How right you are Cotten. The color variations are subtle to profoundly different but that's what I love about Parkerized parts. Even the most analy restored bike takes on an organic look because of the shades and hues of Parkerizing.

[T. Cotten]

How right you are Cotten. The color variations are subtle to profoundly different but that's what I love about Parkerized parts. Even the most analy restored bike takes on an organic look because of the shades and hues of Parkerizing.

Eric!

So bikes with matching park'ing from stem to stern are not "analy" restored?

Yeah,.... might as well be chrome.

....Cotten

[exeric]

That's the point. You can't control the color of Parkerizing because of the metal content, Parkerizing mix, dunk time, and probably even wind direction.

[T. Cotten]

Eric!

No doubt those contribute to minor differences, but major differences were the result of many formulas applied to different applications.
Palmer mentions chromate and manganese based solutions, and I suspect more.

The bottom line is no matter what you do its fake.

....Cotten

[exeric]

That's rather harsh Tom. The only thing I consider fake is a patina job restoration that is made to look like a "survivor" with an owner that plays it dumb. These days, most people are working with old chopper frames, or front forks that have been poorly stretched. There's always someone wanting to know how to get chrome off a cam cover or tranny cover so they can uncover the parent metal. You can't save the molecular uniqueness of Parkerizing and cad plating from 1937 Milwaukee manufacturing. There are the few bikes that were pampered or unmolested and left in the perfect environment that kept them nice. Normal people used the hell out of their bikes and didn't leave pristeen motorcycles for future generations to swoon over. I've never been able to afford an unrestored motorcycle so I have to work with junk that needs to be restored. For me, the journey of restoration has been more than half the fun of playing with old bikes.

[Robert Luland]

First off the kits on Fleese bay are a rip off! Go to Palmetto Enterprises 864-907-4751. Even if you’re doing one bike you’re going to go though more solution than any of those kits will ever supply. Every day Manganese is the ticket. I find the zinc phosphate to light in color. Eric is right about the sanitary thing. I wash my hands before using the beader so I don’t contaminate the gloves with oil or grease because you know the next thing your going to touch is the part ya just blasted. Just baby powder in them puppies. I took in a lot of suggestions here before I started the whole Parkerizing thing. That’s right Eric. Me and my Susie self cleaning $10 buck range. The factory parkerization last much longer and I’m pretty sure I no why. They weren’t using anything different in their solution but they were doing at 1000 degrees. Came across that in Plamers book some ware. I wouldn’t put it past the fact that the factory was use commercial pressure cookers so they didn’t boil it off. The pores of that metal at that temperature were wide open. The only reason your told to do it at 195-200 degrees is so you don’t boil of you nice expensive solution. As far as time in the solution. 10-12 minutes or one hour does not make for a better job. When that sucker stops fizzing the chemical reaction is over! I screwed with this for quit a few months. Experiment’en ya know! This is how I got the best results. I boil the parts in a pot adjacent to the solution for at least an half an hour. Why you may ask. It will get residual oil and grease off. Muriatic acid does not eat petroleum only rust. Even after you do the best beading job possible there are hidden areas that give it up in the lobster pot. I mean you got to see the oil ring in that pot when I’m done. The other reason is the part is now preheated to 212 plus degrees. When I put those parts into the solution it takes about two to three minutes and there done. I also preheat my oil so while those pours are wide open and it gets in there. I’m done ranting. Bob L

[T. Cotten]

That's rather harsh Tom. The only thing I consider fake is a patina job restoration that is made to look like a "survivor" with an owner that plays it dumb.

Eric!

Whoa now, that "patina job' might just have some of my own artwork upon it!

The best fakes are works of art.

The best possible parkerizing job is still fake.
So is fresh cad.

When are we going to stop promoting destructive and expensive restoration techniques when a rattlecan does just about as well, and still conserves the heritage beneath it?

More history has been destroyed by 'restoration' than shall ever be preserved.

"Restoration" has killed a lot of the fun, too.


...Cotten

[moon wolf]

Eric!

Whoa now, that "patina job' might just have some of my own artwork upon it!

The best fakes are works of art.

The best possible parkerizing job is still fake.
So is fresh cad.

When are we going to stop promoting destructive and expensive restoration techniques when a rattlecan does just about as well, and still conserves the heritage beneath it?

More history has been destroyed by 'restoration' than shall ever be preserved.

"Restoration" has killed a lot of the fun, too.


...Cotten

My thoughts have been tending in this direction as well. I have two full scale restorations in progress, but after that...I don't know. I plan to keep my 57 Sportster original, and--yes---the four or five bits that aren't will be made to look that way. It is a shame that there are only two accepted AMCA standards--the full restoration or the original bike. Methinks a lot of nice old chrome and such has been refinished for the sake of a perfect restoration. I know, at least, I'm guilty. I don't think the fake patina is any more fake than a hundred-point restoration (and I am by no means knocking hundred point restorations). At the very least, there's room for all three approaches.