Parkerisation
Parkerisation
Parkerizing is a method of protecting a steel surface from corrosion and increasing its resistance to wear through the application of a chemical phosphate conversion coating. Parkerizing is usually considered to be an improved zinc or manganese phosphating process, and not to be an improved iron phosphating process, although some use the term parkerizing as a generic term for applying phosphating (or phosphatizing) coatings that does include the iron phosphating process. Bonderizing, phosphating, and phosphatizing are other terms associated with the Parkerizing process.
Parkerizing is commonly used on firearms as a more effective alternative to bluing, which is an earlier-developed chemical conversion coating. It is also used extensively on automobiles to protect unfinished metal parts from corrosion. It is also seen on military spec watches for the US army and other forces. See Hamilton GG-W-113 entry for an example.
The Parkerizing process cannot be used on non-ferrous metals such as aluminium, brass, or copper. It similarly cannot be applied to steels containing a large amount of nickel, or on stainless steel. Passivation can be used for protecting other metals.
