Nuts and bolts...cleaning and plating. Tumbler?

[Zack1978]

Hi everyone,
I would like to clean and plate many of the underhood nuts and bolts on my FJ60, and I have no clue where to start. There is a thread in the 60 forum, showing how the bolts can be cleaned and plated, to look like new (https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/552977-rusty-wagon-rebuild.html). My problem with the way it was done in the thread is that all of the bolts were removed (at one time) and sent out to be cleaned and plated.
I know that if I ever did the bolts all at once, my 60 would never go back together......So I would like to find out about a home type system that would allow me to do a few items at a time, and still be able to figure out where the nuts and bolts go.
Any ideas? A tumbler? What about plating? Can thins be done at home? Where can I purchase the needed tools?


Thanks,
Zack

 

[misterpepper]

Not sure what condition your bolts are in, but if they are rusty you can use something like No Work toilet cleaner or possibly CLR to remove the rust, and Caldwell I believe makes a kit called "Copy Cad" for a yellow zink plating that looks almost identical to the factory cadmium plating.

 

[PAToyota]

Caswell Plating

I wouldn't do a tumbler for bolts. You're going to beat down the threads and cause issues if you're not careful. Search for "electrolytic rust removal" on Google for a better method.

 

[rusty_tlc]

I agree with PAToyota on the tumbler.

You night look at a ultrasonic cleaner, they work great for removing crud without damaging parts.

For rust I've always used a wire wheel on the bench grinder.
(tip for doing nuts- run a bunch onto a long bolt, it makes them easier to hold while using the wire wheel.)

 

[RHINO]

it really depends on the tumbler. i have a regular tumbler for small parts and have run bolts through it, it works great but does soften thread edges a bit, no problem really but a vibe tumbler doesnt soften threads as long as you use a media with it.

Eastwood - Auto Body Repair Tools | MIG Welder | TIG Welder | Plasma Cutter | Auto Body Supplies & Accessories has some great stuff for us garage guys, i have several of the products and they all work great.

its easy to build an electro rust removal system yourself, as i did from examples on youtube, but eastwoods zink plating system is great. you can build one at home also, and your halfway there with an electro rust remover set-up,,, but for under $80 and a complete set-up to get you going its a pretty good deal. plate stuff at home in a bucket. pretty cool.

 

[Joe_E]

Hi everyone,
I would like to clean and plate many of the underhood nuts and bolts on my FJ60, and I have no clue where to start. There is a thread in the 60 forum, showing how the bolts can be cleaned and plated, to look like new (https://forum.ih8mud.com/60-series-wagons/552977-rusty-wagon-rebuild.html). My problem with the way it was done in the thread is that all of the bolts were removed (at one time) and sent out to be cleaned and plated.
I know that if I ever did the bolts all at once, my 60 would never go back together......So I would like to find out about a home type system that would allow me to do a few items at a time, and still be able to figure out where the nuts and bolts go.
Any ideas? A tumbler? What about plating? Can thins be done at home? Where can I purchase the needed tools?
Thanks,
Zack

Zack,

Just got back another batch of yellow zinc chromate replated parts by a guy in NJ that does great work. I bead blasted all of my stuff in a cabinet to make it easier and cheaper.

Here is his info-

His name is Jim Ruffi

Yellow Zinc Plating - "Gold Cad" style replating and chromating for auto part finish restoration

 

[Zack1978]

Zack,

Just got back another batch of yellow zinc chromate replated parts by a guy in NJ that does great work. I bead blasted all of my stuff in a cabinet to make it easier and cheaper.

Here is his info-

His name is Jim Ruffi

Yellow Zinc Plating - "Gold Cad" style replating and chromating for auto part finish restoration

Great! I will get I touch with them....besides bolts, what other underwood parts should or could be plated on my60?

 

[Joe_E]

Here is some of the last batch Jim did for me.

 

[langsen]

I've been trying a couple different ways of getting the rust off: phosphoric acid, electrolysis, and ammonium citrate.

The phosphoric acid works okay on surface rust but takes too long for anything more than that.

The electrolysis works really well on everything but can be tricky to set up depending on the size of the rusty part. It works well on nuts and bolts if you put them in metal basket in the electrolyte.

The ammonium citrate works great but takes a little longer than electrolysis. Advantage is that you just leave it alone until it's done, vs the electrolysis where you need to brush the parts off every so often. Not sure if this strips zinc plating like electrolysis.