Bolt/Screw Plating

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S4Cruiser

S4Cruiser

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I thought I remember someone in the club telling me they knew of a place local to the triad or triangle that you can take your old nasty bolts/nuts/washers to and have them cleaned and plated...but I can't remember who it was.

I have a good amount of screws, bolts, etc that I would rather get cleaned and plated vs. paying out the @ss to order them from Spector.

Anyone know of such a place. I'm in Burlington so the closer the better but I make multiple trips to Wintson, Greensboro and Raleigh.

:cheers:
 
Jon - Have you ever tried one of those DIY zinc plating kits from Eastwood and the like? I think they were like $80. I'm in the same boat but I don't think if I put all the bolts in a bucket and dropped them off somewhere I'd ever remember where they go - so I'd rather do 25 at a time on a component-by-component basis.
 
there are several places in Greensboro that do plating. I have used Pugh Metal Finishing on Lee St. several times. They usually charge about 30 bucks for a good sized box of bolts, brackets, etc.
 
Just a thought.. has anyone ever used a rock tumbler to do this? I know they turn rocks into really shiny/smooth items, wonder how they would do with this kind of stuff? EDITED - found some links...might be a good idea for the cruiser resto crowd?

http://www.smokstak.com/forum/showthread.php?t=30845

http://forums.corvetteforum.com/c3-general/2222536-how-to-clean-dirty-bolts.html

http://www.metalsmith.org/edu/equipment/tumblers.htm

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=65838
 
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I use a vibrating tumbler to clean my brass before reloading. Using walnut shells (from the local Petsmart) works very well, with a capful of auto polish (I use NuFinish) and a capful of mineral spirits, it will clean the parts up very well without damaging threads. At least, that is my speculation since it doesn't abrade the brass which is much softer.

Regarding the concept of cleaning up nuts, bolts and screws, having them re-plated and being cost effective, I'm not sure if its cost effective. I guess recycling such small parts is a "good thing", clean them up in a vibrating polisher, paint the head and reinstall with grease to help prevent re-rusting. But, I'd rather buy new stuff from local vendors (like Wilder's in Raleigh) or the stainless steel kits from Cool Cruisers if you want a long term, nice solution for a restore/resto-mod...
 
I used a wirewheel (copper) to clean up 6 bolts last weekend when reinstalling something on the non-yota which will not be named... (heh) Also used it to clean the intake manifold before rebolting on there.

Just use eye protection, those wire wheels, especially when new, tend to throw little bits of wire!
 
they have a tumbler similar to that at harbor freight. as with a lot of things there i wouldnt make my living on it but if your only going to use it a few times probably cant be beat.
 
Thanks guys - these are all great ideas!

I really liked the idea of doing it myself with the kits. I saw that guy's thread on the 40 series tech section and his bolts looked really good!

I also like the entire bolt kit that Robert linked above, pricey but sounds like a good choice if you need all the bolts. I wish the sold screws too though.

I've decided to go the easy route and order from Spector. There are a few other non bolt/screw parts I need and they are the only place to get them, so I'm going to just order the remaining screws and bolts from them.

No one ever said this was a cheap hobby but damn, I've got over a grand easy in just weather stripping and bolts/screws just for the reassembly of my '74 front doors and hardtop...that doesn't even take into account new door and window regulators, body work, paint, etc. :bang::bang:
 
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