Nuts and bolts Restoration

[Mike E.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Mike

I've used both of the Eastwood products you so well illustrate great results. The metal blackening did well initially but after a year, flush rust has taken over the surfaces. What's interesting about your method is the use of Boeshield...new product I'm not familiar. How has the metal blackening held up over time using Boshield. Interesting stuff! I could use it for the bike as well

The zinc plating I probably wasn't patient enough but was disappointed with its results.

I don't have any long term experence with the Eastwood blackening and Boeshield combo. I did notice without the Boeshield the parts began to rust almost instantly and the Boeshield seems to stop that. Here are a few images of some bolts that have been installed in my frame for a couple of months.







Below are a shot of some front caliper brackets that I plated with the Eastwood plating system today. There is some pitting I could have buffed out prior to plating. The key to making the plating come out half way decent is to use a power supply that has adjustable voltage/current, the battery setup that comes with the kit is a total joke. Also below is a shot of my plating setup, as you can see it's nothing fancy.

[Tom R.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

I don't have any long term experence with the Eastwood blackening and Boeshield combo. I did notice without the Boeshield the parts began to rust almost instantly and the Boeshield seems to stop that. Here are a few images of some bolts that have been installed in my frame for a couple of months.


Below are a shot of some front caliper brackets that I plated with the Eastwood plating system today. There is some pitting I could have buffed out prior to plating. The key to making the plating come out half way decent is to use a power supply that has adjustable voltage/current, the battery setup that comes with the kit is a total joke. Also below is a shot of my plating setup, as you can see it's nothing fancy.

I agree about the power supply as a limitation of the zinc plate kit. Tell us about the power supply? Source power?

[Mike E.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

I agree about the power supply as a limitation of the zinc plate kit. Tell us about the power supply? Source power?

like this.



Mike

[Alan D.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

If you go back and do some search on the plating subject - Caswell will also come up quite often. Now my choice went to Caswell, see caswellplating.com their in NY and that's their business.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Mike,
I am surprised that you had trouble with a 3 amp power supply for nuts and bolts. I use the Caswell 3 amp digital power supply and never have an issue with anything that will fit into the 2 gallon pail. It is true that if you plate larger objects more amperage is needed but so far I have not found a part large enough to require more than 3 amps that will fit submerged in that size pail. I have also plated the brake caliper brackets and that power supply was ample for doing them separately You also indicated that you lower the part into the pail with the power on. I don't think that this is a good idea. I calculate the amount of amperage needed and with the part in the bath, turn on the power supply and adjust up to the required amperage. Another thing that might help is to put a second anode in the bath on the opposite side and connect them with a jumper It seems to plate both sides more evenly.'
Jeff

[Mike E.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Mike,
I am surprised that you had trouble with a 3 amp power supply for nuts and bolts. I use the Caswell 3 amp digital power supply and never have an issue with anything that will fit into the 2 gallon pail. It is true that if you plate larger objects more amperage is needed but so far I have not found a part large enough to require more than 3 amps that will fit submerged in that size pail. I have also plated the brake caliper brackets and that power supply was ample for doing them separately You also indicated that you lower the part into the pail with the power on. I don't think that this is a good idea. I calculate the amount of amperage needed and with the part in the bath, turn on the power supply and adjust up to the required amperage. Another thing that might help is to put a second anode in the bath on the opposite side and connect them with a jumper It seems to plate both sides more evenly.'
Jeff

I was too surprised it drew that much current. I've read all the Caswell documentation and it said it should be much less. It must be the Eastwood solution is more conductive and draws more current. I'm not actually lowering the part into the pail with voltage on rather, I'm lowering the anode, still there is risk of spark that could ignite the fumes from the solution, so your point is well taken, I hadn't thought of that. I was thinking about trying 2 anodes, they show that on the Caswell triple chrome video.

I probably will graduate to the Caswell system, the Eastwood kit is very basic however is a good learning experience.


Mike

[Peter S.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

I have posted this several times but the product is so good I will say it again- nothing removes rust as well as Evapo-Rust which is available all over. Parts go in like they were on the Titanic and come out like new. Of course it won't remove pitting, etc. but then nothing will. It is claimed that there is no acid in it (who knows) but after sticking my hand in to retrieve some parts with no effect I believe it to be very safe. If a part is not too rusty, only an hour or 2 will be satisfactory but most parts require an overnight stay. A gallon costs about $22 and is used over and over again. For plating I use the Caswell CopyCad for zinc, and Shooters Solution for black phosphate.
Jeff

Jeff, thanks for the recommendation on Evapo-Rust, I am shocked at how clean my bolts came out - they do look brand new. As far as the Shooters Solution, which solution are you using for black phosphate?

Peter

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Peter,
I'm glad you had good success with the Evapo-Rust. As the solution gets old and well used, it leaves a black deposit on the parts which is removable with Brillo pads or a wire wheel. As far as the Shooters Solution is concerned, I believe they only have one kind of Parkerizing which is the darker (black) phosphate. If you can decipher the directions it works very well. For nuts and bolts I use Caswell's black oxide. It is darker and smoother than black phosphate but is so easy to use and with experimentation it can look just like the phosphate. For larger pieces like pulleys and hood latches I use the Shooters which gives that "speckley" finish.
Jeff

[Gene M.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

If one has the power supply the only other materials necessary would be the zinc and the "solution". The bucket, hanger and wiring are something everybody has.

Does anybody know what the Caswell's solution is for the zinc plating? Also is this solution the same as a "real" plater would use?

[Dennis O.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

I have also "discovered" Evapo-Rust since I last posted on this thread. I agree with the others; it works like a miracle. I had an old '50 Ford grille that had pretty decent chrome, but the back was REAL rusty. An overnight soak in Evapo-Rust was all it needed. I was able to rinse it off with plain water and painted it. The one thing I don't like is how expensive it is. Up here in northern Minnesota, stuff like this was hard to get, so I ordered it mail order from Northern Tool. I think it was $89.95 for a 5 gallon bucket, plus about $30.00 shipping. It says 5 gallons should do up to 150 lbs. of ferrous metal, but mine seems to be about done after the grille (which is no where near 150 lbs.). One thing I did notice is that it didn't seem to harm the existing chrome at all, and even the paint around the "8" in the center bullet was untouched. It works by a process called "chelation" that is an ion-exchange process. I believe that it works much the same as a mixture of feed molasses and water does. I am currently exploring how this works in an attempt to save a few bucks.

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Dennis,
Actually $90 for 5 gallons is a good price. I pay about $$25 for a gallon her locally at O'Reiley's Auto Parts in Detroit. I would go to the Evapo-Rust home page and see where in your area it is available. It is becoming more available all the time.
Jeff

[Dennis O.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Jeff, I think for now I am going to pursue the molasses option. It also works by chelation, and some on the guys on other sites I frequent are building big tanks with dimension lumber and swimming pool liners and doing whole bodies and engines and reporting good results. From what I gather so far, Evapo-Rust seems to be superior. Stay tuned for more information.

[Peter S.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Peter,
I'm glad you had good success with the Evapo-Rust. As the solution gets old and well used, it leaves a black deposit on the parts which is removable with Brillo pads or a wire wheel. As far as the Shooters Solution is concerned, I believe they only have one kind of Parkerizing which is the darker (black) phosphate. If you can decipher the directions it works very well. For nuts and bolts I use Caswell's black oxide. It is darker and smoother than black phosphate but is so easy to use and with experimentation it can look just like the phosphate. For larger pieces like pulleys and hood latches I use the Shooters which gives that "speckley" finish.
Jeff

I see. I am not familiar with "parkerizing" but I see it listed on their site. I need to decipher their website first to figure out how to order. It sounds as though the parkerizing is much closer to black phosphate, and provides a more resilient finish than the black oxide by Caswell. I'll give it a shot. Thanks again.

Peter

[Terry M.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Don't confuse black (gray) phosphate with black oxide.
Phosphate, one brand name of which is Parkerizing (used to be and may still be made by the Parker Chemical Co) has the sparkly finish.
Oxide is a smooth finish and has no sparkles.

For early C3 phosphate is the hood latches and some pulleys. Oxide is the AIR tubes into the exhaust manifolds. There are other uses, but those are the most obvious that most people have seen and are easily remembered..

[Jeffrey S.]

Re: Nuts and bolts Restoration

Peter,
What Terry said is correct. I think that the phosphate that Shooter's sells is black not grey. You are also right that the Parkerizing is the black phosphate. This is definitely what you want for the larger pieces and it will be good for the fasteners. BTW. Last night I threw some original Wittek tower clamps into the Evapo-rust and when I removed them they look like they were brand new! Even though the bands are galvanized and the screws are zinc plated steel the results were amazing.
Jeff