Parkerizing my parts on the 1960 FLHF build

[Saddletramp]

So, I have been Parkerizing many parts on my build. Some have turned out very dark and some have turned out a charcoal gray .The process is somewhat labor intensive, but the results are so cool. I'll post pics if anyone is interested.
James.

[JoJo357]

I'd be interested in seeing your parkerizing labor intensive pictures James.

*M.A.D.*

[chuckthebeatertruck]

Some have turned out very dark and some have turned out a charcoal gray .
James.

Generally, this signifies different carbon content in the steels.

a lot of hardware was 1040, it goes charcoal.

treat sat 4140 the same way and it will come out more grey,

this assumes everything is otherwise the same about your prep, bath, and after bath oiling.

a trick is to give those grey bits a good surface roughing with 120 grit oxide in the blast cabinet and reparkerize. I found that usually gave me enough surface area to get enough reaction going to make the parts more uniform.

done right, parkerizing holds up for decades with almost no fuss. See a brown spot, rub a little oil in and you’re golden.

[duffeycycles]

Did you drop them in hot oil after you parkerized?

[sw48]

After parkerizing (phosphate coating) the parts should be treated with a preservative oil such as that conforming to military specification MIL-L-3150 to prevent rusting.

[Saddletramp]

I'm working on the pics of my last batch. I wanted to take pics of my setup, but now I have a weather delay since I am doing the process outdoors.

Basically my process is as follows:

All parts are bead blasted and then cleaned/degreased (currently using Acetone) again after blasting, then in hot water for a few minutes before going directly into the park solution at 175-185 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Another hot water bath after park treatment and then hit with WD40 and then dried and soaked in 60 weight oil overnight. I figured that HD had plenty of that 60W around and may have used it,
although I read in a previous post someone surmised that Harley used ATF as their after-oiling at some point.