Are Parts Blued or Parkerized?

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   I am working on the data sheet for my rifle andI am having trouble determining whether certain parts are blued or parkerized. It is my understanding that parkerized parts are gray in color, maybe light gray or dark gray depending on the age and wearing on the metal or they may have a greenish color. Usually parkerized parts have a dull finish as opposed to a shiny finish.
I have some parts that are dull black. Are dull black parts considered to be blued? Or are these parts parkerized and the color is black, i.e. black parkerization? 

Here is a pic of the trigger housing and slide. Are these blued or parkerized?

Thanks...

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Quibbley Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Recruit Joined: Jan 28 2021 Location: Danville, VA Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Quibbley Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Are Parts Blued or Parkerized? Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 2:45pm
	I am working on the data sheet for my rifle andI am having trouble determining whether certain parts are blued or parkerized. It is my understanding that parkerized parts are gray in color, maybe light gray or dark gray depending on the age and wearing on the metal or they may have a greenish color. Usually parkerized parts have a dull finish as opposed to a shiny finish. I have some parts that are dull black. Are dull black parts considered to be blued? Or are these parts parkerized and the color is black, i.e. black parkerization? Here is a pic of the trigger housing and slide. Are these blued or parkerized? Thanks...
	Quibbley

kro1970 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List On Point Joined: Jan 01 2016 Location: Central Florida Status: Offline Points: 299	Post Options Post Reply Quote kro1970 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 3:12pm
	Looks parkerized to me

kro1970 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List On Point Joined: Jan 01 2016 Location: Central Florida Status: Offline Points: 299	Post Options Post Reply Quote kro1970 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 3:14pm
	Zinc parkerizing is grey and Manganese parkerizing almost black

lancer114 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Recruit Joined: Jan 27 2021 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 12	Post Options Post Reply Quote lancer114 Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 4:11pm
	Was there a milspec for WWII weapons parkerizing as to which type to use?

Quibbley Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Recruit Joined: Jan 28 2021 Location: Danville, VA Status: Offline Points: 10	Post Options Post Reply Quote Quibbley Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 4:38pm
	Thanks guys. I will list these components as Parked on my data sheet. Good question Lancer114 (from a fellow Virginian).
	Quibbley

jackp1028 Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Joined: Jan 01 2016 Location: Cloudcroft, NM Status: Offline Points: 1246	Post Options Post Reply Quote jackp1028 Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 5:59pm
	Most of the detailed original part drawings I've been able to find refer to MIL STD 171 finish 5.3.1.2. or 5.3.2.2. (manganese or zinc phosphate, respectively). Later drawings frequently use Spec 57-0-2 Class A or B which I suspect is a more contemporary, equivalent "Final Protective Finish" specification. I have also read where this specification has been replaced with the modern specification, MIL-DTL-16232G. All of these specifications are for phosphate finishes. Only a few parts are specified to be finished "Type III, Oxide Black" (AKA Blued). An interesting note, the drawing I have for the Type 2 (round) bolt, dated 1943, calls out for a manganese (black) phosphate finish, not black oxide. However, the generally accepted belief is that original carbines were to have been made with bolts having a black oxide finish. I wonder...?
	JackP

m1a1fan Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Got Para? Joined: Jan 01 2016 Location: Virginia Status: Offline Points: 1735	Post Options Post Reply Quote m1a1fan Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 9:01pm
	I also struggled with the the color sections of a datasheet. One day a high ranking member made it crystal clear. Think not of color No park or blue; think Crayons Describe what you see Edited by m1a1fan - Feb 02 2021 at 10:50pm

Why Carbines? Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Joined: Dec 27 2015 Location: Tennessee Status: Offline Points: 873	Post Options Post Reply Quote Why Carbines? Report Post Thanks(1) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 9:22pm
	WTF?

03manV Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List On Point Joined: Mar 01 2020 Location: near Charlotte Status: Offline Points: 262	Post Options Post Reply Quote 03manV Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 02 2021 at 10:48pm
	WTF? x 2
	Don

tenOCEE Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Hard Corps Knows rear sights! Joined: Jan 01 2016 Location: East Tenn Status: Offline Points: 1330	Post Options Post Reply Quote tenOCEE Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 03 2021 at 8:43am
	Make Your Future Danny - YouTube The Grand Rapids bolts have that dark phosphate look, don't they? They aren't that jewel blue of Wins, the black shine of later ones but have that dull, dark look.
	My sig: Seen an IP or S'G'? Add it to my registry. We'll check consecutives. https://grandrapids.wufoo.com/forms/zzlnt0519k86xs/

Matt_X Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Grunt Joined: Nov 10 2020 Location: Phila, Penn Status: Offline Points: 731	Post Options Post Reply Quote Matt_X Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: Feb 03 2021 at 11:21am
	I think what he's saying is that when in doubt about the finishing process, just describe what you see. What I see in the photos above are a matte black finish. Since I don't see texture in the surface, I'd be tempted to say 'blued' but I was not aware that manganese phosphate could produce a similar surface. I've seen a lot more examples of bluing than of parkerizing. So I still struggle in IDing the various types of 'parkerizing' (I think many others do too.) For the bolt pictured below, I wrote blued black on the datasheet. I think that is correct but...