Bolts and Nuts - cleaning / renovating

[ukjules]

I was wondering how on earth people on this site get old
30 year old bolts to look like new ?

I have looked an Zinc plating kits but even though I always clean up
bolts and the threads before putting them back on they are old !

How on earth do you get them too look like new ?
(Of course i order new ones off ebay when i can same pitch etc but when you cant ?)

[chuck hahn]

Degrease them and then throw them in a bowl of vinegar overnight. Then some clean baking soda infused water and a green dush scrubbie will do wonders. May not be like day one but they will be clean and rust free at that point.

[hampshirehog]

Wire wheel in a drill then zinc plate them.

You don't need to buy one of those expensive zinc plating kits, you can make your own for less than a tenner.

[Nessism]

I've got a zinc plating kit from Caswell's Plating and consider it one of my better purchases.

[Runeight]

I've also been checking that kit out. Looking at your pictures it seals the deal. Very nice.

[ukjules]

That kit is exactly what i want ! Superb results.
I will try the vinegar , baking soda method first though,

I would be interested in making this kit myself ?
How would i do that ? Now that is interesting

[sharpy]

Youtube it. lots of vids on there on how to do it

[metalfab]

I've got a zinc plating kit from Caswell's Plating and consider it one of my better purchases.

That is a thing of beauty, it is amazing what a little dunk in the soup with the power flowing can do.

[londonboards]

If you have time on your hands (I wish it for me!) then a DIY solution would be fun to play with.


See what results this guy got: Philisopherian Plating Take a look at the whole of his rebuild thread. Unbelievable. But good tips about plating - it's all in the prep work and the control of the current - apparently.

If you don't have time, do what I did and just bag them all up and give them to your local plater. I was able to get Cadmium on this lot but it's unlikely that you will find anyone doing it any more:

See my blog post on: Plated Carb Parts

Before:


and after:



Before:



after:



I had a bucket of bits done for about £30 a couple of years ago. Saves a lot of aggro.

[Nessism]

I will try the vinegar , baking soda method first though,

Vinegar REMOVES the plating.

[ukjules]

Kit it is as i emailed a few companies and no replies.
Seems a bike worth of bits is not worth them doing.

[Vmass]

The difference in quality between Ed's and londonboards is quite extreme.

[Nessism]

The difference in quality between Ed's and londonboards is quite extreme.

I've done three bikes worth of parts now and still don't understand all the the little ins and outs on how to achieve consistent results. Some batches turn out darker, duller, blisters on larger parts, etc. It's always an adventure. It's also always a lot of work. Strip the old plating, bead blast the surface, wire wheel to polish the metal, mount up on a wire and then plating, followed by chromating. I can't fault anyone that takes their parts to a pro. The one main advantage of doing it yourself is that you can do all the little odds and ends parts that crop up during the rebuild. Your plating guy will look at you cockeye'ed if you show up with three small tidbits for plating...again and again.

[steveb922]

My results improved greatly once I bought a variable power supply. I find that temperature control is also important. Too cold, or too strong a current, and i just get grey lumps.