drbones2nd Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Sorry for all of the posts but as I stated before, been out of the thompson loop a while. Just got in a 1928 with a parkarized finish. However, not really happy with how it still shows the heat treating area on the receiver so thought about having it refinished in a black oxide (blued) finish? Who is doing this type of refinish work? I think the industry calls it Du lite? Not sure. I like the look of the black blue shinier finish over the parkarized look. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconbob Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 The gun bluing process is known throughout industry as black oxide. It is only in thegun business that its refered to as "bluing". Black oxide is a hot dip immersion processwhich causes the surface of the steel to turn a dark color. If you sandblast a part beforeprocessing it comes out flat black. If a part is polished before processing even thoughyou run it thru the same tank you get the gun-blue finish typical of firearms. Du-Lite isa brand name of black oxide chemicals, but there are dozens of suppliers of thesechemicals and you really can't tell the difference in the end result. So, if you want the shiny finish the problem is you have to polish the parts. Unlessyour gun is a real dog, no matter how careful you are doing the polishing you will bereducing the value of your gun. There is simply no way to polish off the parkerizingwithout it being obvious when the gun is blued. The prep for parkerizing is sandblasting, and while this is also changes forever theoriginal factory finish, it does not alter the surface as much as polishing. My recommendation would be to black oxide the receiver and trigger frame, andreplace all of the other parts with EXC condition parts which are still available in theparts sets. This will get you as close as you can get to original - many of the WW2 gunshad flat black (i.e. sandblasted but not polished) receivers and trigger frames with allof the other parts polished. An EXC condition parts set will cost you approx $1000 butyou can retrieve 1/2 of that by selling your parkerized parts. (maybe more). You can black oxide over or thru parkerizing so it will not be necessary to polishthe receiver and trigger frame. The exception would be if your parkerizing is one ofthe later light grey processes which can result in a thick, coarse finish. WW2 parkerizingis iron-manganese phosphate which is dark and smooth and the thickness of the finishis only 0.0002"-0.0004". (yes - those are ten-thousanths). The debate of to-refinish-or-not-refinish has raged here before but your case is a littledifferent since your gun has been parkerized. But please, please do not have someonepolish the receiver and trigger frame unless they are already so damaged that it wont matter. My $0.02 Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sig Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 There are two companies that do charcoal or carbonia bluing finish as Colt and others did in the early days.Big $ but these web sites might give you and idea of the different finishes out there. http://www.turnbullmfg.com/ http://www.ronsgunshop.com/pricing.html 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbones2nd Posted November 14, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Thank you for the info. Sounds like the black oxide is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james m Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 The last time I saw something like this done the gunsmith first sandblasted the parts to get rid of the parkerizing then glass beaded them. The resultant matte black finish was uniform and looked very much like the original finish applied during WW II. I believe the black oxide chemicals he was using came from Brownells.Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
emmagee1917 Posted November 14, 2011 Report Share Posted November 14, 2011 Had a blued WH M1A1 that we had to re-machine the mag well in. I then had the local gunsmith re park it a dark blue/black . Came out a very light gray . Would not correct it.At our last spring shoot , the front sight pin broke and the sight came loose , and the rear sight pulled it's rivets almost out.As per recomendations I contacted Tommygunner to fix . He reinstalled the front sight , rear sight , replaced the foreend hanger with a one -piece , and blasted off the old park and "blued" it with the black oxide.Just had her out this last weekend after getting her back a month or so ago. Function perfectly and all six shooters gave the refinish two thumbs up. Works for me.http://tommygunner.com/pages/services/index.htmChris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSMGguy Posted November 15, 2011 Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 How nice a job do you want? How much time do you have? If you don't mind just a bit of a wait, PK is the best Thompson smith in the business. His finishes cannot be told from factory original, if that's what you want. p-k@q.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbones2nd Posted November 15, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2011 How nice a job do you want? How much time do you have? If you don't mind just a bit of a wait, PK is the best Thompson smith in the business. His finishes cannot be told from factory original, if that's what you want. p-k@q.com I agree 100% with you on his quality of work and reputation. However, he is also back logged a long time and i would not rather wait a year to get my thompson back. I am not the most patient person...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Motorcar Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 I waited a year for PK....it was worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kickstartit Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 From the most resent post I've read on the subject you may be in for a 3 year wait for PK. I've been on the waiting list for a year and a half, but I agree it is worth the wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbones2nd Posted November 16, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 3 years??? Wow. Hell, i might be dead by then...lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconbob Posted November 16, 2011 Report Share Posted November 16, 2011 Since Tommygunner and PK have been mentioned here I will throw my hat in the ring.Most people know of Phila Ordnance as as supplier of high quality 80% machined receivers.We also have a production line set up and running to produce M1928A1 and M1/M1A1working/shooting guns for Police and Class 2 manufacturers. The guns are made by assemblingoriginal U.S. military parts on new manufacture ordnance specification receivers. Most people cannot buy a post-1986 Thompson, but anyone can take advantage of thebarreling, gunsmithing, and bluing services which are here in place for the production ofthe guns. Because we do so much of this work we can provide highest quality work at a goodprice. Turn around time for barrel, bluing, and gunsmithing work on full and semi autoThompsons is 4-6 weeks or less depending on what gets done. For info call Bob at Phila Ordnance 215-576-0259 or email Philaord@aol.com. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drbones2nd Posted November 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2011 Email sent. Thank you for the information. 4-6 weeks sounds more appealing to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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