What type of finish do you put on your underhood nuts and bolts? Im mainly concerned about corrosion protection but these are some of those little details that need to look right. Ive been thinking about a zinc plating kit from eastwood but you have to "clear coat" them after plating them...wtf? Ive tried painting bolts dull silver in the past but never been able to keep the paint from getting chipped up when tightening the bolts. Is there a trick to that art? Running out and buying stainless ones is not an option, this is more "restoration" work. Looking for some ideas here.
I like stainless for everything I can use it on.. You can polish it your self with some mothers or wenol. I just hate rusty stuff... I wont tell you how much ive got in stainless fasteners on my 32 roadster but I will tell you this. check your local Menards if ou have one cause they are stocking a lot of stainless stuff. From what im told decks and stuff from treated lumber need stainless bolts to be up to code now days so menards started stocking bunches of stainless from 1/4 to 1/2 inch.. I got some really good deals on shit there especially when they have their 15% off sales.. Dave
For most things under the hood, I just use the shiny cad plated bolts and nuts. I but them by the box and keep them in stock. I have a buffing wheel on my bench grinder and a few swipes make them look like chrome. Yeah then I hit them with some rattle can clear and they will last for years and years. I often like things to look clean and new but not necessarily chrome plated. I'll bead blast the original bolts and hit them with semi-flat black, straight flat black, stainless steel paint or sometimes cast blast. I try to keep the rattle cans well stocked. I've just recently discovered satin clear paint. That leaves a very nice finish without being too blingy. Sometimes all stainless bolts and nuts just don't look right for me. That's part of the art that we don't often notice on a killer 40s hot rod. The fasteners seem to melt away into the whole picture.
Try to find some 400 series stainless or go with IVD...Ionic Vapor Depositation. Its replacing cadnium plating and most chorme or nickel coatings. No hazardous by product and cheaper to install , and maintain. Its pretty much a Alclad coating, but 80% more corrosion resistant than any ferrous type coating.
I was told by an old Concours De' Elegance guy that he polished the most visible under-hood bolts until they shined, and then used gun bluing on them to stop rust. They looked great, shiny blue-black, and since the originals were (rough) blackened metal bolts, it was not a points deduction for using a similar process. p.s. he used a gunshop-standard cold blue kit, nothing special, so he could touch up scratches and it would look the same.
This is exactly what I was thinking! I actually went to a hunting supply store over the weekend to look at the blueing kits. Im gonna give this a try. I think it will give the finish we're looking for.
Ive used gun blue on nuts and bolts before as well and it looks pretty good. However, I found that I had to wipe them with an oily rag regularly or else spray them with some clear coat to keep them looking good for a long time, or they'll eventually rust again.
maybe way too much work but I have been blasting mine then powder coating them (usually stamped steel from eastwood) They hold up well and they don't chip if you're careful. You can get the beginner gun for 69-99$ and use an old (maybe free) oven. they even make a rust color in case you want a durable, "patina".
If your doing a restoration and the fasteners are not being repoped (try AMK) then go old school and clean the threads with a wire wheel and blast the whole thing with the finest glass shot (looks like baby powder) you can find and send the fasteners out for clear (silver) or yellow cad plating or nickel or black or whatever is supposed to be there. -Bigchief.
Last summer I had a whole barrel of small parts clear zinc (shiney silver) plated. Must be clean and blasted, steel only at the place I went to. Cost me $65 for up to 250 pounds. As long as it would fit into their tumbling barrel, a max length of 18 inches I think. That's a LOT of parts. They took very neat and clean, without being too showy. Probably exactly what a "restoration" needs, and at a great price.
http://www.barrettplating.com/ Shipping might kill the deal though. Bet theres a similar place near you.
The Jalopy Journal
