What is the best way to make old bolts look new. I have a tumbler and that cleans them but what will put a nice Finnish on them?

 

U must be nutz.....sorry, could not resist......

 

What are you wanting to do? Restore a factory finish?

 

I have had pretty good luck with Eastwood products.

here is a "Blackening system"

http://www.eastwood.com/metal-blacke...ystem-set.html

 

I believe that blackening kit my work for what im wanting to do. Have you tried it yourself?

 

I am not affiliated with Evaporust.

I just did my hood bolts and they came out great. There was some light surface rust in the cups on top of the head. I soaked them for a day and then let them air dry. They should be good for a while. Dark black just like a factory black oxide.

For chrome screws: if it is light pitting with some surface rust, soak them and they should be good. I just did my luggage rack screws and the rust was so bad it went under some of the chrome. Now the rust is gone and the chrome looks funny. Oh well.

The eastwood guys mentioned above probably have something great too.

 

soak them overnight in CLR they will clean right up for you

 

You ought to try a Swedish on them to make them different.

 

If your looking for a factory black, go to your local gun store and buy some gun bluing. drop the bolts in for a min or two, pull them out and rinse them off with water. It's not perfect, but it's close.

 

 

Ok, here are a coupule ideas:

1) New bolts: Expensive but you don't have the time involved. If you consider it: if you spend a day or two re-doing old bolts and you consider your time, and anything else doesn't look as good (and no other process doesn't), new bolts could be a good idea worth considering. You can probably get all you need for $50. See if you can buy them in bulk from an oline seller by the box. If you want black oxide bolts that look original, when you factor in the labor and materials to restore your bolts and that fact that only black oxide will truely look like black oxide, it might be the best way to go. Depends on what you are trying to achieve.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/25-M8...37148848549433

2) Bluing: I've tried it. It will look ok, but it doesn't have the same level of protection as new bolts, labor intensive, wears off pretty easily and IMO just doesn't hold up as well as you'd think. I glass-bead blasted the bolts and parts I re-did, and I was excited. They looked decent at first, but didn't hold up well. It was a lot of work for what I got. Still might be worthwhile to try if you don't want to spend any money.

3) Painting: Looks pretty good with flat black, and it's quick. But, need to be careful the paint doesn't chip when you reinstall which is very difficult to do. And then they can rust under the washers too if you blast them.

4) Re-black Oxidizing: This will give you a like new finish while preserving the original markings and stampings. The best idea is to take all the bolts you can in one shot, even get some replacements at a junkyard and send them off to get re-oxidized. Send them (with paint removed) to someone like Steve Gregori at www.brakeboosters.com. He will have them dipped in acid which removes the rust and old finish, takes them down to bare metal and then has them professionally re-oxidized just like the factory process. It's not a garage or kitchen table process, it's the real deal. If you do a lot of bolts and want to keep the original markings, it is a worthwhile process. But you might be able to find bolts with like 9.8 on them (original markings in some cases). I sent him a bunch of parts to get re plated with zinc and gold zinc and they came back looking absolutely like new, with the original tooling marks still preserved too. IMO, about the only way this pays is if you are doing a total restoration and you have all the bolts you can send in, in bulk, or have a bunch that you got at a junkyard. That way you have only one shippng charge. If you can buy 50 bolts for $35-$40, then you might as well buy new bolts.

IMO the only thing that looks and lasts like black oxide bolts is black oxide bolts. If you go to car shows, you can tell a nice restoration because they used the 'real' bolts and not painted with chips on them. If it's a low dollar restoration, then paint is ok, I used to do it myself. Good luck.

Mark G

 

Scott

 

FYI, I sent the Ebay seller selling GM bolts (see my above post and link) a couple questions and got a response. Those reproduction bolts he is selling DO have the original "9.8" embossed inside the bolt head making them original replacements for many Corvette bolts, depending on your year. He also does combined shipping. Actually, I'm glad I read this post because I have another car I'm restoring and was going to get my existing bolts re-plated, but now, to me, it makes sense to just buy replacements.

Mark G

 

Man, I don't get some peoples fascination with minutiae. I mean, this goes beyond attention to detail. I'm not knocking it, to each his own, live and let live, I say, but I don't get it. But, hey, people like that probably look at me and think I'm a reckless slob. I guess it's all relative. Whatever floats yer boat, right? If it gives you a sense of satisfaction, then go nuts! Me? I couldn't be bothered. Takes all kinds of people to make a world.......


Scott

 

 

Buy new bolts...

 

 

Well, the question as I recall it was: "What is the best way to make old bolts look new?"

What I tried to do was outline a couple detailed paths to do so and the pros and cons of each as I've experienced. May be detailed to you, but some guys strive for original appearance, others the custom look.

 

Scott, I suppose it seems that way when you read the posts. I've done all sorts of things with re-doing bolts ranging from replacing them with hardware store bolts, painting them body color, bluing them, leaving them rusty, spray painting them over while painting the frame/engine compartment, undercoating, etc. For me, it comes down to whatever fits the project and what one is trying to achieveand the budget. I don't knock anyone for the techniques they use to fix, maintain or restore their rod or rigs. I never had any money to replace bolts when I was younger, or don't want to have 'like new' bolts. But if a guy does want 'like new' bolts, it's good to know what options there are.

Mark G

 

No need to defend youself, I'm just saying I don't get it. But I don't need to get it. It's what makes you happy that counts, not me. (it may be that I am just not at that level on my project yet. I'm still too concerned with getting things to work properly to worry about making them pretty yet! Who know, I may end up polishing bolt heads and stuff, too. You can be sure I'll have a good laugh at my own expense if I ever do!!!)


Scott