Gonna paint my nuts - need advice

[82_454_shorty]

OK, not what you're thinking ....

I'm rebuilding an older Chevy pickup. I'm replacing as much of the hardware as possible. I can't get new stuff for everything however so I'm cleaning and painting whantever I can't replace.

There's a number of bolts and nuts that I've cleaned up but they still look fairly crappy. I was thinking of painting them but I'm pretty sure the paint will get messed up when I try to tighten them.

Does anybody have any experience / suggestions?

 

[Privatejoker]

Have you considered painting them after you torque them down?

 

[zuess253]

I have been restoring my Z28 for a couple of years and have found that painting them before you install works sometimes but not all the time. I use paint brushes for model cars to paint the nuts and bolts after i install them or touch them up.

 

[spongerich]

How about getting them powder coated?

If you do all the prep, you might find a local powder coater that'll toss them in with a larger batch that they're doing and get them done cheap.

 

[trbomax]

Find a local plateing shop that does barrell plateing.They will do zinc-dichromate,then make it black or gold,which is like oem. Wont chip either.

 

[wantedabiggergarage]

One of our customers decided to either paint everyone after assembly, or if it was something that may come back off (common area) to replace it with stainless.

 

[idoine in toronto]

Have you looked into Eastwood's home plating system? They have several different plating options.

I haven't used the system but it looks like it does a good job.


http://search.eastwood.com/search?asug=plating&w=plating+system&p=Q&ts=custom

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[trbomax]

Forgot to add that zinc dichromate in black,dk green, gold , or silver is cheap too. Soak all those bolts in muratic acid for a few hrs,rinse ,then put in a can or bucket with a dish soap/water mix to prevent flash rust. Take them to the plater. I usually get a full , large coffee can full done for $15. Any bolt nut or washer except locks,that I take off anything,go in a can. when its almost full,I "recycle" them as above. You always have an inventory of like new fasteners that way. Same goes for small brackets or clips on any particular job.

 

[q miester]

have you thought about buying chrome caps to slide over them.

 

[38Chevy454]

Find a local plateing shop that does barrell plateing.They will do zinc-dichromate,then make it black or gold,which is like oem. Wont chip either.

Agreed, zinc plating is best. Most of the factory boplts and nuts were zinc or older cars cadmium plated. Cad is real expensive, zinc is commonly available and what you find on new bolts at the hardware store. Zinc is silver color and the chromate coating is what gives you the clear (very slight bluish tint), yellow/gold, olive drab or black.

 

[crashbumper]

^ That's what I do with fasteners here. I glassbead them, and send a large full coffee can at a time to get plated.

 

[airbassador]

As always, a good paint job is only as good as the preparation. Shave first.



Aw come on, you're the goofball that wrote that subject line, give us some rope!

 

[Case]

As always, a good paint job is only as good as the preparation. Shave first.



Aw come on, you're the goofball that wrote that subject line, give us some rope!

beat me to it

 

[TRC51]

As always, a good paint job is only as good as the preparation. Shave first.



Aw come on, you're the goofball that wrote that subject line, give us some rope!

+1 Thanks to the OP for making me laugh every time I see this thread title. Much needed giggles on a Monday.

 

[rsanter]

Find a local plateing shop that does barrell plateing.They will do zinc-dichromate,then make it black or gold,which is like oem. Wont chip either.

yup....
there is a local place that used to do a 5 gal bucket full of nuts, bolt, brackets for $100

bob

 

[Nuts]

Nuts

 

[Kevin54]

Re: Gonna paint my nuts - need advice

Just drag them across the carpet like a dog before you do. It promotes paint adhesion.

What nuts are you painting? Underneath the truck, under the hood? What kind of quantity?

I think I would buy new ones in bulk for the most part instead of using the old ones. Especially if the truck stands out compared to others. Then maybe use a clearcoat on them before installation and then touch the clear up after torquing them.

How about a larger shot of your truck? I am assuming that is the one in the avatar.

 

[DIC]

A friend of mine used the Eastwood's home plating system on every nut and bolt on a 56 Ford PU he was restoring, He wasted a lot of time because they started rusting pertty quick. I would just paint a lite coat then repaint them after the were installed....just my 2 cents........

 

[ZRX61]

Soak all those bolts in muratic acid for a few hrs,

A few HOURS??? 2 or 3 minutes will remove all traces of rust.

 

[trbomax]

A few HOURS??? 2 or 3 minutes will remove all traces of rust.

I know,but I was assumeing the worst possible conditions.The muratic doesnt go after the metal anyway,so it doesnt hurt anything. I recycle the muratic and after a while it takes a bit longer too.

 

[ddrewyor]

When I do anything that I want to keep nice, I use a good quality enamel paint and then bake it in the oven for 30 minutes @ 325 degrees. This cures the paint and makes it very hard. It normally stays on the bolts\nuts when installed. Using a 6 point socket when installing also keeps the paint from coming off the edges.

Dave
________
IFA FORUMS

 

[82_454_shorty]

Thanks guys! I'm talking about big nuts in this case

The type in question are mostly cadmium coated flange nuts:

Most are mid-sized and used to connect fairly heavy stuff like the pedal assembly, steering column, frame components etc. and are difficult to find locally. To me they are also an important detail to visually finish off a vehicle.

I live in boonies so I don't have access to powder coaters, plating shops etc. so I have to improvise.

I was planning to spray paint for a better finish so painting after installation is a PITA.

Thanks again for all the suggestions. I'll give them a try and post the results.

 

[speed bump]

Thanks guys! I'm talking about big nuts in this case

The type in question are mostly cadmium coated flange nuts:

Most are mid-sized and used to connect fairly heavy stuff like the pedal assembly, steering column, frame components etc. and are difficult to find locally. To me they are also an important detail to visually finish off a vehicle.

Those aren't big nuts, if its under a 3/4" bolt diameter its a small nut.

This is a big nut

As far as getting nuts, its a Chevy you can buy every single nut for that new in a kit for fairly cheap online.

 

[kwright]

I restore vintage Japanese motorcycles, frequently doing reassembly with freshly chromed (or new chrome) bolts and nuts, or painted fasteners, both wet-coated or powder coated.

A technique that *almost* always works to preventing marring of chrome or paint (depending on the torque applied), is to take a small piece of the very thin plastic shopping bags that are everywhere these days. Double or even triple it over, place this over the head of the fastener(s) before applying the tools to the parts. Tighten carefully.

These bags are so thin, there's enough room to to still get the tool on the fastener, so I use as many layers of the plastic as I can and still get the tool to fit well. It's a bit awkward the first few times, until you get the feel of it, but this does protect the finish of the fastener. I use the plastic once or twice, throw it away and cut a new section and keep going.

This works within reason of course, if enough torque is applied, all bets are off.

 

[southpier]

use POR-15 including their metal prep & cleaner. works wonders

 

[wbclassics]

We're a pro resto shop and there is a lot of hardware on old Brit roadsters that isn't available new so we have to re-plate the stuff.

Zinc plating prices aren't too bad, we pay $75 per batch... a batch is defined by the type of part being plated and the color. Small misc hardware items are barrel plated, while larger brackets and things are wired up and hung in a tank. If you need clear chromate and yellow chromate, that is two different batches as well. So the key to plating is be organized, get everything that is similar in size/shape and color into one batch so you don't have to pay for a second batch of like items. How large is a batch? I could bring in a 5 gallon bucket of hardware and that would be a load (single color).

Do all of the prep work yourself. The prep for plating old parts is LOADS of work to get to a clean bare metal surface that is acceptable for plating. Do an initial degrease, bead blast off corrosion / other junk, muriatic acid dip (removes left over old plating and any remaining corrosion, so you spend less time bead blasting), quickly neutralize / water rinse, bake for a few hours (drive out hydrogen from acid), dip in water based free rinsing anti-rust compound to prevent flash rusting before the plater gets to your batch.

You'll get very consistent, high quality plating the better your prep work is. If you want a higher luster from your plating, you'll have to polish your parts after the acid bath to bring up the shine from the matte finisht he acid will leave. After polishing, degrease and rinse again.

We also have the Caswell zinc plating system in the shop, but it is a very difficult process to control yourself without high end rectifiers to control the current through the plating bath. The calculations Caswell provides as guideliens for adjusting current based on surface area are also very general, and you'll end up doing a lot of re-plating on your own, until you become comfortable with how the plating system works.

In the end, at $75/batch for zinc plating from a plating shop, is a much better option than trying the Caswell kits.

Make sure your plater bakes your parts after plating if anything is critical to your safety...

 

[82_454_shorty]

"As far as getting nuts, its a Chevy you can buy every single nut for that new in a kit for fairly cheap online"

Thanks Speedbump, any websites in particular that you know of?

 

[yhprum]

You can do parkerizing at home. Its not totally weather proof, but it would help. Check DIY parkerizing on google.

 

[mackrmnn]

Completely off topic but the title of this thread reminded me of something that I thought you all might enjoy reading...


http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18595

 

[38Chevy454]

You can do parkerizing at home. Its not totally weather proof, but it would help. Check DIY parkerizing on google.

Parkerizing is just the brand name for iron phosphate coating. It is a chemical process, usually followed by an oil dip. The phosphate crystals help hold the oil.

Zinc with a chromate coating is much better for corrosion protection.