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What are people doing about old crusty hardware?

I am spending all this time carefully restoring my truck and I have a zillion baggies of old crusty hardware.

I have been buying a lot of new hardware for frame mounted items for safety sake, but my local hardware stores have very little in the way of hardware and they charge too much. I have bought some specialty stuff from McMaster-Carr, but I rarely need these things in boxes of 100-200.

Is anyone using a tumbler and home plating like the stuff you can get from Eastwood?

Bill Schickling

Have the old stuff cad plated and reuse it.
or
http://www.hbbolt.com/index.htm

If the Evaop-Rust hype is to be believed, you can just toss all your old screws into a bucket of that stuff, and pull it out a few days later just like new!

There was a post awhile back where a guy put up instructions for some kind of electo-rust removal.. involving a water filled container, a piece of rebar, alot of salt, and a battery charger.. I think one dude actually built a 5,000 gallon version to take the rust off his frame!

I have been using the electrolysis for removing rust from my parts. So far I have done the shackles and some of the springs and a few other parts. It works pretty good.

I am not sure you could do small hardware like nuts and bolts. You can only really do one or two parts at a time. It would take a long tims to clean them all.

I mounted a wire wheel on my bench grinder for small stuff but nuts and bolts I replace.

Rich

My brother in law is an electrician. He brings me ziplocks full of stainless steel bolts, nuts and washers whenever I need them. He's saving me a fortune in hardware even if I were to go non-stainless. I've already put about 20 lbs. of new hardware on already and I'm not even to the body yet.
Scott

Bill,

If it is just rusty, corroded stuff you are trying to clean up, I have seen people use a small electric cement mixer partially filled with hardware store play sand and the parts to be cleaned. Tumble them for a day and they will be clean. I thought your rig was a hot rod as opposed to a restoration...are you trying to reuse the factory fasteners?


Stuart

Stuart,

Yeah it is mostly hot rod, but I'm just tired of spending time looking for replacements and paying extra when I buy them a few at a time.

However the tumblers from Eastwood are over $100.00. I think that buys a lot of hardware.

I was just wondering if it would be easier to reuse what I took off to begin with.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Bill Schickling

Bill,

I have seen the pictures of your truck...it appears you only do first rate work! I personally think new, cool hardware (fasteners) are just as important as a polished valve cover or stainless braided lines.

It is tough to have to buy in large quantities from McMaster-Carr. Be sure to note that some items are available in less than box quantities at a little higher price. You could use them as a info resource, then try your local hardware stores.

We have the ACE hardware chain nearby, and they have a couple of aisles dedicated to fasteners...even chrome plated socket head guys. Whatever you decide, judging from your pictures, it will be very professional.


Stuart

I use a combination of my parts washer and a vibratory tumbler to clean hardware. The parts washer is an important first step to get the bulk of the gunk off; otherwise you can crud up your tumbler media pretty fast.

I don't think I would have bought a tumbler just for this, but I had one to go with my reloading press anyway, so it was "free".

I found a nut-n-bolt place here in Elko,that will sell me singles or just a few at a time;all it takes is a little shopping around. You might check with mechanics or fabricators and ask where they buy their hardware. Granted,it's hard to make yourself buy 200 of something when you only need a dozen,but hey-it won't spoil,and if you have it on the shelf already,you'll always end up using it on a project later.I've only regretted buying a box of something a couple of times,like when I realized after the purchase I didn't have enough money to buy gas for the last days before payday. Besides,I just feel better using new hardware for assembling things when I can-easier to work with,stronger,cleaner,safer.
On low stress things,I still clean up and use original hardware often,mainly because these days I generally have more time than money.
Speed

Hi Guys,
I have no solution. Just wanted to say thanks to •/• for the link, just what I needed, I moved to Canada and English isn't my strongest point yet, so I know what I need, but how do I tell the guy behind the counter, now I can, pronunciation is of, but I get what I need Thanks

And to Scott, does your wife have pretty sisters, unmarried?

Electrolysis work very well for parts that are too small or complicated, the salt you use is a spoonful of washing soda, I did a few parts and I was surprised with the result. I dry those parts quickly with the torch and dip them in motor oil, to prevent rusting.

Thank you guys, I learn something here every day and if not, I learn English

Success
Richard

I usually have good luck with nuts and bolts and the like at farm supply stores.Alot of the time they just sell the stuff by weight. It's pretty cool to just get what you need and have them weigh it, don't matter what grade it is. I always get my fastners cheaper this way.

I also buy from the farm store, but it helps to live where there are lots of farmers.

Electrolysis will be the easiest and cheapest way to clean the fasteners. I would find a steel mesh basket to put them in, connect the basket to the charger. Stir them up a time or two to get all the rusty surfaces exposed.

When we reuse fasteners at our museum we paint them. If the're big we brush on two coats of oxide primer, then enamel. For smaller stuff we spray, a minimum of two coats primer and two coats enamel. You also need to keep the paint to a minimum on the threads.

My Method.
I put the nuts/bolts in an plastic coffee container(Folgers) that I get from work filled with stoddard solvent. Paint thinner would work just as well. After soaking, I pour thru a strainer and rinse off with hot water. I then put in a different plastic pot filled with a 10% solution of phosphoric acid. Let soak for a few hours or a day, then pour off again and let dry in the strainer. I then dunk them in a different coffee container filled with some stuff I got from zero-rust called prep step which will keep them from rusting and strain again.

To properely plate the stuff you WILL have to wire wheel all the threads on the bolts cause the chemical bath WILL not do a good job. Yes the chemical baths help. You might have to chase all the internal threads and dress up the sides of the heads. cause if you're going to the trouble you might as well do it correctly. Otherwise ... You will have spent the $$$$ and have areas on those threads not plated. Think about zinc.
I have to do this w/ my whitworth nut, bolts, and machine screws cause they are expensive when I have to buy them from the UK. I have antique bikes and most of the hardware is cadmium plated. I buy new hardware for my USA bikes and cad plate them after buying perfectly good hardware in zinc.
my .02
Ps at my local hardware surplus shop I buy by weight, NOT each. it's a bit cheaper cause this shop deals in steel, hardware, surplus steel, mill shop rems, aluminum, some plastic and stainless. some of that is fasteners and fabrication pieces.
you guys would LOVE this place...
it's not cheap.

I do the rust electrothingy... that i found on this site... ive got a 55 gallon drum that i made my own hottank from using the lye (caustic soda) (crystal household type drain cleaner) i put 5 one lb cans in about 35 gallons of water, can dunk a whole block or manifolds or a wire basket of parts or bolts. I dont even have to use heat. can leave that overnight and will get incredible amounts of gunk even paint off. Dont "DONT" put aluminum parts in there tho. after i let it soak overnight... use the same barrell for the electroalysis putting the positive clamp to the object, and the negative clamp to the barrell is what i do... ya leave that about 4 hrs or overnight (careful it will bubble bad sorta gases sometimes from the lye) but isnt flamable leave that for awhile depending on how big the part is... and even rusty crusty old exhaust manifolds will come out bright..... same with bolts in a bucket.... have used it several times with several different engines...and believe me a couple of old 235 heads layin ouside in the weather for 20 years are rusty......but it cleaned them up...cleaned em up good enought to tell they were rusted through with pinholes in the head......

Bill -

I'm a big proponent of stainless. Whenever I take anything apart on my truck, I reassemble it with stainless steel fasteners. I think they look better and I can do without the rust. Unlike yourself, I have done this over a period of years. I have owned my truck since 1977, but began using stainless about 10-12 years ago. Each time I replace a part or disassemble any part of the truck, I go back with stainless.

Recently, I pulled the front end off of the truck and decided to go back with stainless. Here's what I did. I matched all of my various sizes of bolts, washers and nuts. After counting them, I found that it actually saved me money to buy boxes of 100 of various sizes. Not only that, but I have some left to use on the truck when the next little or big job comes up. If you will look at what sizes of various bolts you have, I think you'll find that there are not that many different sizes. There'll even be a few that you won't be able to find in stainless. I also found that I could combine some lengths to cut back on some of the length sizes.

This may not work for you, but it worked for me and I thought I would just share my thoughts with you.

Good luck!

Joe