Cleaning up rusty bolts

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mweeps

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 12, 2012
Messages
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Location
Charleston, WV
My Car
07 Mustang GT
First car 351 H Code 73 Mach 1 totalled in college
Any suggestions on cleaning rusty bolts and how to coat them?

 
I have 8 bolts with washers that hold the spare tire carrier on my Bronco.

 
I have 8 bolts with washers that hold the spare tire carrier on my Bronco.
LOL

I'm soaking some in Simple Green solution the industrial purple. Plan on hitting them with a wire brush or drill with brush. Taping the threads and primer black.

Someone tell me an easy purchase for size and thread count. Heck if I could get that I would just order new stainless steel or zink coated from http://www.boltdepot.com/. The parts and body illustrations I bought from the web lacks that info.


2v36c1d.jpg


Bingo!! I want one.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21999&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PLA&gclid=CP3W2P7FhrYCFSmoPAod3BEAug

 
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Muriatic acid.

Found some at a local hardware store.

Use outside only.

Do not spill it on concrete.

I put it in a small cup and do a few at a time. It'll eat EVERYTHING including coatings off of the steel.

Neutralize with baking soda/water.

Be very careful.

 
Lots of the concours folks are now recommending Evaporust. The instructions states 30 minute bath, but in reality, it is more like 12-24 hours. It is very good on removing rust but not paint, which allows the concours crowd to find original markings on things.

Personally, I either use a wire wheel or glass bead blasting to clean hardware.

 
Lots of the concours folks are now recommending Evaporust. The instructions states 30 minute bath, but in reality, it is more like 12-24 hours. It is very good on removing rust but not paint, which allows the concours crowd to find original markings on things.

Personally, I either use a wire wheel or glass bead blasting to clean hardware.
If I used that on one of my cars it would be a paint "exoskeleton" like a used reptile would leave behind every so often.

 
I have 8 bolts with washers that hold the spare tire carrier on my Bronco.
LOL

I'm soaking some in Simple Green solution the industrial purple. Plan on hitting them with a wire brush or drill with brush. Taping the threads and primer black.

Someone tell me an easy purchase for size and thread count. Heck if I could get that I would just order new stainless steel or zink coated from http://www.boltdepot.com/. The parts and body illustrations I bought from the web lacks that info.


2v36c1d.jpg


Bingo!! I want one.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=21999&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=&utm_content=pla&utm_campaign=PLA&gclid=CP3W2P7FhrYCFSmoPAod3BEAug
Here this is easier

All ready to go and labeled too.

Item #71Z-M

71 MASTER BODY ASSEMBLY FASTENER KIT

Master body bolt kit contains a total of 349 pieces in individual labeled packages. Price: $179.00

Item #71Z-63D

71-73 MASTER INTERIOR FASTENER KIT FASTBACK DARK

Master interior fastener kit for Fastbacks with dark interiors. 315 piece kit. Price: $100.00

 
Lots of the concours folks are now recommending Evaporust. The instructions states 30 minute bath, but in reality, it is more like 12-24 hours. It is very good on removing rust but not paint, which allows the concours crowd to find original markings on things.

Personally, I either use a wire wheel or glass bead blasting to clean hardware.
+1 on the Evaporust.

Not just bolts, nuts & washers. Had some serious rust on mating surfaces of 331 block, due to repeated condensation puddling.

Left a sopin wet rag, soaked a rag in Evaporust resting on the rusted areas. All nice & cleared up the next day. Surprising the amount of rust deposits it will clear up.

 
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+1 for OMS

Replace all damaged / stretched / pitting inn bolts and nuts just for safety.

A lot is new available (AMK, ...) with the right logo on it.

Old bolts and nuts can be cleaned with a brush wheel on a drill, than soak it in "FERTAN" after that rinse in water and let it dry and spray "Brunox" on it(remember the material what you need is maybe more expensive to do than buying new bolts and nuts...).

http://www.brunox.nl/

http://www.mercurius-tools.nl/ws/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=76&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=71

Eddy

 
+1 for OMS

Replace all damaged / stretched / pitting inn bolts and nuts just for safety.

A lot is new available (AMK, ...) with the right logo on it.

Old bolts and nuts can be cleaned with a brush wheel on a drill, than soak it in "FERTAN" after that rinse in water and let it dry and spray "Brunox" on it(remember the material what you need is maybe more expensive to do than buying new bolts and nuts...).

http://www.brunox.nl/

http://www.mercurius-tools.nl/ws/index.php?page=shop.browse&category_id=76&vmcchk=1&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=71

Eddy
+1 on the fertan , i used it for the bolts on my Mach1 , works great !!

 
I'd like to recommend the "rock tumbler" solution. It just so happens that I began this weekend cleaning old rusty nuts and bolts with it, and it works great.

I used a "course grit" abrasive that came with it for rough rock polishing. I put about 4 tablespoons of the abrasive powder in and filled the barrel half-way with water. I then put several good squirts of fast-orange in to cut the oils/grease, and dumped a bag of rusty bolts from dash removal that I had bagged. Attached is a picture (on the left) of what I got back after an overnight tumble. Beautiful nuts and bolts, all perfectly cleaned even in the intricate corners and down in the threads.

I didn't take a "before pic", but the bolts on the right look qualitatively like what the ones on the left did when they went in.

The tumbling in water and cleaner with abrasive grit really does a number on them, and it's effort free. Only real downside is you have to wait a few hours to get them fairly clean.

I think this is a great option as compared to some of the harsh chemicals and acids which otherwise work well. Wire brushes also work great, but the little nuts and bolts (even washers and nut plates) get completely cleaned.

You do need to recoat them with WD-40 or some other oil when they come out to prevent re-rusting, but man- they look like new, and have a beautiful natural finish (paint-free if you leave them overnight)

Jay

bolt cleaning.jpg

 
Here is a pic, 24 hrs later, of the rusty bolts, on the right hand side in the pic above.... AFTER spending the day in the tumbler... I pick them out (leaving the water and abrasive in the cup) and put them on a paper towel to dry them. after getting most of the water absorbed, I just spray them with WD-40, roll them around a few times, a few more sprays of WD40, and some wiping, and this is how they look:

bolt cleaning 2.jpg

 
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I start off with the Evapo-Rust - let 'em soak for a few hours. Then I dry them off, toss into a re-purposed PowerAde bottle (cut the top off just below the taper), and take to the bead blaster. After about 15 minutes of 'blasting, shake it up, 'blast some more, shake some more, repeat, repeat, etc., etc., the fasteners are pretty much natural metal at that point (poor man's tumbler). Then, I poke a bunch of holes into a scrap piece of cardboard and push the bolts through so only the heads are exposed, and paint 'em with black engine enamel. Then spray on some WD-40 to the threads and use anti-seize when installing as appropriate.

If you want to leave 'em "natural" (as required by concours for some applications), get some satin-finish clear coat and paint the heads. Or according to Mustang Monthly, get a bottle of Muratic Acid and a gallon can of WD-40. Soak the fasteners in the Muratic Acid for about 30 minutes to etch the surface areas, then rinse and soak in WD-40 for about 30 minutes afterward. Won't completely prevent them from rusting ever again, but it should slow down the process significantly.

Getting a new set of fasteners (Master Kits) from Don saves even more time, but costs about the same as buying a tumbler, chemicals, and paint - if you add it all up. Not to mention the kits come with the correct fasteners sorted, bagged up, and labeled with their locations - which makes it really nice when you're putting something back together that you took apart 3 years ago (and can't remember which bolts go where). ;) :D

Hope that helps someone - it's how my stuff's been going back together. And you know I know a thing or two about rust. rofl

 
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