metal identification guide?

[chazmania006]

forgive me if i may have missed this, but i was unable to find anything through the search engine..
is there a metal identification guide available on this website anywhere? or is there one elsewhere that you would recommend?

many thanks

[mcaswell]

There's not a single document that does that, and there probably should be. We'll add that to our list of projects.

What are you trying to identify?

[chazmania006]

here goes...

i collect japanese made replica handguns. they are are gas operated by the same substance that makes up computer air duster, and they fire 6mm plastic bbs. in most cases, the frames and slides are nothing more than abs plastic, however there are metal aftermarket replacements are available.

i have a slide that i'm confident is aluminum, and a frame that i'm guessing is what's generally referred to as pot metal. i would like to give this particular piece an olive drab finish.

the frame came black... using emery cake on a wheel removes some of the black finish, but reveals a very pitted surface. only after intense sanding and buffing am i able to obtain a remotely smooth/pitless surface.

depending on what kind of metal it is, i was wondering if there was a better way to remove the black finish without corroding the material.

i'd like to know the metal type so that i can start thinking about which of your kits will serve my purposes.

thanks for the response.

[mcaswell]

Yes, I think you are right. It does sound like Pot Metal (Zinc Die Cast).

One way to test is to take a drop of battery acid and place it on the part. If it fizzes vigorously, it's Pot Metal.

Try a less abrasive compound to remove the black finish, like a brown tripoli compound. Pot Metal is very soft.

You can easily zinc plate pot metal, then apply an Olive Drab Chromate.

[chazmania006]

affirmative on the acid test, thanks for the tip! so if i wanted the aluminum slide to be OD as well i would just give it a pre-zinc treatment?
what sort of color matching issues would i have with the two metal types and the olive drab chromate?
again, many thanks for the assistance.

[mcaswell]

You could zincate, then zinc plate the aluminum, although most people wishing to color aluminum would do so by anodizing. It's a much more permanent finish.

[kirkacs1998]

There are several ways to idetify metals. Magnets, chemicals, spark test. Magnets will separate ferrous(includes some SS) from non-ferrous(includes other SS). If non-ferrous, chemical tests are necessary. If ferrous, a spark test will identify the metal. Look for the chart at a Public Library in a Metal-working or welding textbook.