The perfect bolt

[Koll]

I've been on a quest to master some of the fundamentals of restoration. One that has kept eluding me is how to clean nuts and bolts.

I bought this "tumbler" that gun folks use to clean brass. It's similar to the one you can get at Eastwood. It kindda works. Slooow. Takes hours if not days with rusted items. Used Eastwoods "green diamonds" rust cutting media. OK for small parts, but media clogs up threads badly on bolts and studs. Not a viable solution.

I've tried enough chemicals and cleaners to make Dow proud, but no real joy.

I've been thinking of getting an ultrasonic cleaner. Anybody used one of these?

What's your secrets guys? Sorry if I've asked this question before. I just got out of a day at the garage and it has not been too fun. Always come to Tom's site to cheer myself up! :)

Koll
(No Ferrari yet)

[Pete]

The wire brush attached to a bench grinder ... and time. Once clean I get the re cadium plated.

Note: It is important if the bolt is a high tensile bolt that it is stress relieved after plating. Your oven can do this at 200 degree's C for an hour or 2 (cannot remember).

Pete

[Matt F]

I'd say it depends on how critical the hardware is.

Carroll Smith's Nuts, Bolts and Fasteners and Plumbing Handbook is an excellent resource for understanding the fundamentals of fasteners. (His other books are excellent, too. If you can't find them anywhere else, I believe that the SAE will sell them to non-members.)

Replacing the hardware is always an option. There's a huge array of materials, sizes, threads, and finishes available at places like www.mcmaster.com.

If you simply need to remove rust, take a look at www.evapo-rust.com. It works much differently (and much better) than naval jelly or rust converters converters.

--Matt

[josh]

This reminds me..

I'm looking for a good shop to re-plate a bunch of bolts and brackets (silver cadmium or clear zinc).

Any recommendations? How much should I expect this to cost?

Thanks,

--Josh

[tyang]

Josh,

I could get you the name of the guy Francois uses in CT, but recently, he's had some quality control issues, so half a batch had to be sent back.

Koll,

I usually use the wire wheel, like Pete, to remove rust, but am thinking about getting one of those parts tumblers if I do another car.

Sandblasting is another option.

Tom

[josh]

I have one of the eastwood tumblers, and it does a fairly nice job, if you give it enough time. It has two different media. First you use little plastic pyramids with water to remove rust. This takes a day or so.

Then you do it again with the "dry shine" media, which looks like walnut shells or something along those lines. This polishes the metal and leaves it nice and shiny.

It also gets caught in the threads, so I have to chase them afterwards with taps and dies.

Glass bead blasting works much faster, but it leaves a rougher surface on the bolts. I think it still polishes well in the tumbler after glassbeading though.

--Josh

[Koll]

Josh, ya I haven't used the polishing media yet. I just might. Even if I determine that the tumbler isn't the right thing for fasteners, it does have its place for small parts, spacers, etc. They come out wonderful.

Tom & Pete - Ah the wire wheel launcher! Suppose the right way to go would be a bench unit. I've just pressed my DeWalt cordless drill and Dremel for this. I suppose it's like bodywork: No, you can't heat alminum sheets like they did with the Ford GT and use air to blow them into molds... You have to use a nasty ancient hammer! Use the right tools correctly is the lesson.

Josh - again. Zinc! Yes. I was so spoiled with my lastest Toyota projects. I just get into the car and motor down to the dealership. 80% of the bolts and such can be purchased new. Wonderful yellow zinc plating on eveything. Correct flanges and lock washers included. Just like that day everything was new in Tahara, Japan!

Doesn't Eastwood have some sort of "home zinc plating kit"? I've been tempted. But that'll come after I get part 1 down. Cleaning.

Matt - Yup. Already a McMaster junkie. Do they sell their catalog yet? Thanks for the heads-up on EvapoRust. Too temping not to try. I'll post back results. Thanks also for the heads up on the Smith book. I'm a fastiner junkie and I'll try to scare up a copy.

Thanks for the feedback guys! I'm still rather shocked that the "state of the art" is so.... medievil? One would think with all the gadgets for the home and office that have exploded forward in the last two decades, some of that would have made it's way to the shop.

I guess when I'm burning away hours with a wire wheel, I'm just thinking to myself - "Man, you're a schmuck. Do you think the pros do it this way?" Ha, living and learning.

[josh]

Eastwood has a tin-zinc plating kit, but I don't think the result is as durable as a normal zinc plating would be.

Caswell sells some excellent plating kits for zinc, but it's not particularly cheap, and looks like it would take some practice to get consistent results.

I wanted to price out getting a professional shop to do the work before I went that route.

--Josh

[tyang]

Koll,

A bench top grinder is the only way to go with a wire wheel. The drill doesn't turn fast enough, and a dremel doesn't produce enough torque.

You can see from this picture, I've put some mileage on my wire wheel!


Tom

[lukek]

i used mine to get the paint of my horn trumpets. it was one of the better purchases. just watch for things going airborn (great torque)/

[enio45]

Guys, im in the middle of the restoration process and i have used DETAIL PLATING in Calif for cleaning and plating of the original bolts and all the hardware........when i disassembled the car, there are a number of special nuts, bolts , washers etc that are no longer available and they have special markings as well as size on the bolt heads. Additionally, the various latches, (trunk support arm, latch, catch, etc) i also had plated in clear zinc and they came out like new....i was so impressed that i sent all the trim screws, washers, bolts and nuts to them and they came back like new. Their process takes off the rust and oxidation, he can remove the paint if u have any at an extra charge. If i do another car, i would do this again....the results are fantastic, clean, shinny and like new on the original hardware - which is key!!

Here is the email - "brakeboosters" <brakeboosters@sierratel.com>

Ask for Steve..........you will not be disappointed - tell him i sent you