jusplainwacky

My hood latches keep rusting up...is there anything I can put on them that can keep the rust off? I prefer not to paint them.

66jack

Thin coat of vaseline or oil...both will collect dust..

suntreemcanic

Lightly glass bead the latches and spray clear lacquer. It will have the bare steel look and not rust. But it does require painting.

wilbur

You can over spray black paint on them like the factory did.

ejboyd5

If for some personal reason you do not want to paint, a coating of Corrosion-X will do a fine job of keeping them rust free.

jim lockwood

You could have them re-plated with either cad or zinc. That will keep the rust at bay.

treh1

Give FluidFilm a try, it's easy to apply and works well to protect bare metal surfaces.

TCracingCA

but in the hobby car miniature world, they have high end spray paints (testors, gunze, tamiya are some brands), and cans of flat, semi-gloss, and clear high gloss and I have bought both lacquers and enamels.

Damn the pretty car group should give me a metal, for such a helpful idea!

93RubyRedCoupe

I used rattle can flat clear on my front sway bar after I removed the paint someone had applied to it. It was for judging, so I sprayed flat clear on the sway bar to prevent it from rusting. That was years ago and not a lick of rust on it. With flat, you won't even be able to tell there is an applied finish on the item, and can removed with thinner if desired. ARA

Stan's Customs

Exactly what I do..

domenic tallarita

Rustolium has a clear coat that is for garden tools like shovels and I just bought a can to try. So far I like it but have not checked the gloss level. I looks glossy and stays wet for a loooong time to soak in. When it dried it was rock hard.
All my cad plating is starting to look shabby and I'm not finished with my vette.
I am going to try it today over some cad because of this thread.

Dom

cardo0

Try some gun steel blueing chemicals. U can buy them for browning instead if u like. Pretty simple stuff to use but do use chem resistant gloves. I recall u need to do some scrubbing to prep the steel then can apply several different ways and finish by stabilizing with plane water. Unless u touch it with sharp objects it should stay as is.

What i did to my hinges on my C3 is paint them. But i used the "hammered" silver rattle can enamel then baked it on at 250* F in a little broiler oven. I like it. Hey its a non collectible C3 and i cant hurt the valve at all.

Hope this can help.

davekp78

Blueing them will discolor them- turn them dark blue to almost black.

jusplainwacky

Thanks everyone!! Some great ideas!