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on my third c4 refurb and one of my BIG pet peeves is rusty fastners
in the past ive wire wheeled. takes forever. bleh
also soaked in phosphoric acid. works. but also can sometimes pit the fastner. not supposed to but it still can. also has potential to damage hardened steel fastners (gr 8).
so i ordered one of these and grabbed a couple quarts of playground gravel. the more angular the better. i added half a cup of simple green AND half a cup of phosphoric acid mix at some relatively weak mix. the result is perfection. the rust is gone. grease is gone. and fastners end up with a slight phosphorus protective layer against rusting. nothing new its all over youtube but wanted to share with my c4 peeps. NO MORE dirty fastners for this guy.
A Thumbler's Tumbler with ceramic media works wonders. That is what I clean my brass in. Comes out looking like new. I use angle cut, ceramic media, actually this:
1-step method that seems to work real well to clean,derust/descale, and then protect with phosphate layer aka “blueing”
bunch of playground gravel, rinsed, then toss the parts in as greasy as they are, half cup of simple grean, half cup of diluted phosphoric acid aka “lime away or lime licker”, let run a few hours, rinse with warm water, spray with wd40, let dry on old towel.
less work and faster than anything else ive tried. leaves parts with a blue/grey tinge like a gunbarrel and are protected a bit from further rust due to the phosphoric acid.
id like to get a darker blue or darker coating as a protectant. also id like to avoid consumables like wd40. so will be dipping my next batch in some wmo from vette oil changes and will let sit on towel.
real easy, no dicking around with ordering fastners.
more pics.
Last edited by VikingTrad3r; 04-20-2019 at 12:21 PM.
the top picture in above post were the most nasty exhaust bilts ive ever removed. yeah not as perfect as the others i could left them in longer but im doing refurbs and cleanups not oem standards.
also i need to find more angular gravel. the kids play ground stuff is pretty round.
Last edited by VikingTrad3r; 04-20-2019 at 12:19 PM.
I am an amateur expert on the restoration of GM Fasteners........
Im my opinion most of the "dark colored fasteners were/are MANGANESE PHOSPHATE Plated.
It is a process done in a stainless steel pot with water and above chemical. Uses NO electricity. Ive done small batches using a COLMAN propane camping stove.
You can use different chemical rust removers to clean the bolts. It is BEST if you can Media Blast the fasteners with a Glass Beading Cabinet but Ive also used a Tumbler, Purchased at Harbor Freight.
I have not searched the INTERNET today for misc articles on the subject...but YEARS AGO I must left plenty of info at www.nastyz28.com (2nd Gen Camaro site)
After Mang Phos is applied preserve the finish with FLUID FILM (aeresol/Home Depot) or the more expensive BoeShield T-9 ........WD 40 is NO WHERE as long lasting as these two other products.
I don't know what GM does, but what I do know is enough to keep me out of trouble. I deal in bolted joints in engineering a little bit and some of the different manufactures use different treatments and coatings on fasteners for a reason. Most of it is you don't just torque something to a torque and it is all good. the reality is mush deeper. You can turn a screw in to torque, but depending on speed and friction in the end is what determines the actual joint torque. So some joints require a certain amount of coating on them to make that particular joint as tight as it need to be. I would not try not to disturb the bolt as much as possible. Again most of it depends on the tool used and install speed, but IT can make a difference down the road if it is a structural joint or a joint that will see any kind of resonant modes with high transmissibility.
you definitely look like you are professional at restoring fasteners! I would say you are far beyond an amateur at this! They look amazing!.
For me, this is a hobby and I think I am far more amateur than you are, I need something that can happen all at once. Otherwise it’s not worth it and I would just buy them new or maybe I would buy refurbished ones from you!
I just finished installing a whole bunch of Driveline fasteners and they went in amazingly and it sure was nice to use clean nuts bolts and screws and washers. For a person like me who doesn’t have as much time to devote to the professional level of fastener cleaning and the resting, the simple mild phosphoric acid with strong simple green component and gravel in a vibratory Tumblr works amazing. And my hands don’t get dirty. And it happens while I sleep.
04-19-2019, 07:19 PM
the holy grail of rusty fastner refurbing
