Restoring 240z nuts/bolts/screws

[lm71z]

Many of the screws and bolts on my 240z are discolored from years of grease/dirt etc.. Is there a certain solution I can soak the screws and bolts in that will restore them to their original look? And what about the aluminum parts of the car that are supposed to be a goldish color? Can those be restored to their original look without having to buy new parts?

[dkd021]

No solution that I know of, they'll probably have to be replated. This is what I've done...I'd soak them in a degreaser solution for a couple of weeks. Just get some concentrated degreaser & put them in a bucket w/ a mixture of water. Every couple of days, vigorously shake the bucket (with a lid of course) & change the degreaser water when you're done. After a couple of times you'll notice the water becoming less & less black. Eventually they'll be clean for the most part.

Then find a plater in your area. Take them in a bucket to your plater & tell them the type of coating you want. They'll come back w/ some rust pits & maybe a little grime on a few, but for the most part, they'll come back good as new. You can probably get one color done for less than $100.

[george71z]

Check Eastwood .com. They have a variety of chemicals and systems to take off rust and corrosion, and to replate parts. A vibratory tumbler and some plating stuff will work wonders on old hardware.

[hls30.com]

1) Degreaser is the first step. If you use a water based one, boil the parts in it and they will come clean in one or two sessions-no need for a long soak.

2) Cleaning-wire brush/media blast/tumble/acid treat/-removes the corrosion that the original finish(normally a pretty iridescent gold Cadmium plating) took to keep the steel fasteners from rusting.

3) Coat with WD40 if you aren't going to take the parts to the plater immediately-to keep rust away.

4) Deliver the protected hardware to the plater(then go to step 5) or clean and coat yourself.

4a) DIY-Degrease again, and either paint(cadmium finish paint can be found here) or plate with a zinc/cad system from caswellplating.com (be sure to add the yellow chromate kit to duplicate the original finish)or equivalent.Follow the instructions accompanying the refinishing system you chose. (See step 6.)

5) Pick up the parts when they are ready

6) Reinstall.

Will

[Lazeum]

The technic I'm using is an electrolysis + wire brush to clean up any residual rust + Chloridric acid then home made zinc plating process.

So far no result yet on my side regarding zinc plating (it still in process).

What you need is time and a generator (battery charger, Power Unit from PC, etc...). There's plently of info on the net

The following link is in French but you get the idea of the results you can expect

I've used electrolysis for rusted parts, it works very well. I've done bolts, very rusted files (to try the method first) and a mustache bar with great success!

Edited February 2, 2009 by Lazeum

[=Enigma=]

I plated many of the fasteners I planed on re-using with the Caswell kit. One thing I learnred was not to skimp on the rectifier. After many failed attempts and calculations, I finally figured out a process to get a fairly reliable and consistent finish. The process was definitely a learning experience, challenging, but lots of fun. That said, if I had to do a large number of pieces again, I would just take them all to a plater. In the end, I think it is the cheaper and certainly a faster route, probably with a better and more consistent plate job.

To clean the fasteners and remove rust prior to plating, I used a heavy degreaser, followed by a 5% hydrochloric acid dip and a good rinse. Just before plating, I used the Caswell degreaser as a final step, and then on to the plating solution. Last step was the yellow chromate finish which is a simple matter of timing the dip for the depth of color you're after. I think I actually posted some pics of my results a year or more ago.

Edited February 13, 2009 by =Enigma=