Using origonal nuts and bolts

1928Pickuppain

1928Pickuppain

Senior Member
I know there was a few threads on here years ago on reusing nuts and bolts but I can't find them for the life of me (the search feature doesn't seem to work to well). I Digrsss

So after cleanings and getting all of my front end parts back to factory spec and painted it's just about time to reassemble. All of my bits and bolts are in decent condition so I want to reuse them how do you guys clean and "polish" bring your nuts back to like new condition and what do you all do for rust prevention on exposed nuts and bolts? I'm thinking about grabbing a HF tumbler and tumbling them in wall but shells but what's next?

Thanks,
Derek G.
 
I tried tumbling for hours and finally gave up on it and sandblasted the hardware. A friend put some rusty hardware in a crock pot filled with pure white vinegar, and after a couple hours on low heat they came out rust free. Rinse in hot water, dry quickly and oil them or spray paint them to prevent flash rust.
 
yea, sandblast tumbler is the way to go. I find alot of lock washers cracked or they crumble apart in the tumbler so i replace alot of them (or thier completely flat...). I tumble the new ones with the old bolts so they all get a uniform paint color that sticks. I then rinse them in acetone let them dry then spray paint them with industrial rustoleum. Seems to work pretty well and doesnt build up in the threads if you do several light coats.

If thier big enough or have cotter holes i use a blast cabinet and really clean out the cotter pin holes. You can string a bunch of the larger nuts together with wire and blast them like a necklace. ;larger bolts can thread together with small wire thru the cotter holes once thier clean.
 
You can chase the nuts and bolts using a thread repair kit. Do not use taps and dies as they will cut new material off of the bolts and nuts.
 

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SeaSlugs said:
yea, sandblast tumbler is the way to go.
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I'm not sure what a sandblast tumbler is, but I use the one with the plastic pyramid media...

http://search.eastwood.com/search?w=tumbler

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It works overnight to clean rust off of fasteners and small hardware and makes them look like new. Fasteners should be cleaned first of most grease and crud. I do that in diesel and a parts brush.

I always replace lock washers...Even if they are still looking good. Cheap insurance.
 
You Can NOT chase the treads in many of the bolts and nuts on the chassis!!!!!

Even the stuff for just cleaning the threads can remove metal, I have tried. Ford often used higher precision threading and you need to get high precision taps and dies to chase the threads.

Also some nuts like the rear spring and single and double ball nuts are super super hard. They will ruin a tap.

Sorry, you need to hand clean the threads or use a wire brush if you want the best threads.
 
I use original bolts, especially when overhauling a rear axle assembly. When tearing one down I dump the 20 banjo bolts and six torque tube bolts into a can of lacquer thinner and leave them to soak. This removes oil, crud, and paint. I have replacement originals ready to use.

After removing from the lacquer thinner each bolt is bead blasted. The threads are then wire wheeled on a soft wheel. Those that are stripped are discarded. The heads eventually get painted black after the rear axle assembly is complete as was the original.

Other original bolts are treated the same except they are sprayed with WD-40 before being put away. WD-40 will keep them from rusting for a long time. If they don't get painted when installed on a car the heads will eventually take on rust.

Tom Endy
 
A simple way to get them dirt and grease free is to place them in carburetor cleaner. You can get the 1 gallon can kit with submersible tray from any auto store. After that if they are lightly rusted just clamp them in a vise and use a 4" fine grade wire wheel that chucks up into an electric drill. There are tube shaped wire brushes that chuck into an electric drill in the welding supply sections of Ace Hardware type stores that work well for cleaning the threads of nuts.
If the rust is heavy a sand blaster will work but is pretty tedious trying to hang onto them and not drop them through the screen and into the media.
Another option for removing rust would be to soak them in Oxalic Acid or more commonly know as wood bleach. You can get it in the powdered form at any hardware store. Just mix with water and let them soak for a day or so.
 
1crosscut said:
A simple way to get them dirt and grease free is to place them in carburetor cleaner. You can get the 1 gallon can kit with submersible tray from any auto store. After that if they are lightly rusted just clamp them in a vise and use a 4" fine grade wire wheel that chucks up into an electric drill. There are tube shaped wire brushes that chuck into an electric drill in the welding supply sections of Ace Hardware type stores that work well for cleaning the threads of nuts.
If the rust is heavy a sand blaster will work but is pretty tedious trying to hang onto them and not drop them through the screen and into the media.
Another option for removing rust would be to soak them in Oxalic Acid or more commonly know as wood bleach. You can get it in the powdered form at any hardware store. Just mix with water and let them soak for a day or so.
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X2 Dave is the Model AA rust expert.
 
Replacing lock washers is a good suggestion. I replaced most of mine with stainless steel. Then painted them with VHT 650 black gloss epoxy paint.

I like the 650 because it dries to that unique sort of "semi-gloss" finish that the original had. And no rust!
 
Kevin in NJ said:
You Can NOT chase the treads in many of the bolts and nuts on the chassis!!!!!

Even the stuff for just cleaning the threads can remove metal, I have tried. Ford often used higher precision threading and you need to get high precision taps and dies to chase the threads.

Also some nuts like the rear spring and single and double ball nuts are super super hard. They will ruin a tap.

Sorry, you need to hand clean the threads or use a wire brush if you want the best threads.
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A good example is the banjo bolts.
 
One Permanent Method:

1. First shake and twirl bolts, nuts & washers in kerosene after an all night soaking to remove old grease and oil.

2. With circular wire brushes on both sides of an axle in a mandrel with electric motor below, (all on a portable wood stand resting on the floor below), wire brush all bolts, nuts on bolts, & washers on bolts to furhter clean and remove old paint.

3. Pre-drill a fiber board peg board, (holes on 1" centers), with a drill bit to fit each different diameter bolt, & place bolts in organized, pre-marked holes.

4. Place nuts & washers on a wood dowel supported on each end.

5. Treat bolts, nuts, & washers with POR 15 Marine Clean & rinse, POR 15 Metal Conditioner to stabilize rust & rinse, and finally paint everything except threads with (2) coats of POR 15, followed by sprayed POR 15 Chassis black.

6. After installing bolts, repaint bolt heads, nuts and threads with POR 15 followed by
Eastwood Metal spray paint for unpainted finish look.

7. Rustoleum and other metal paint in our humid area for undercarriages etc., is about as porous to molecules of moisture and as effective as a rust preventative as painting metal with concentrated salt water.
 

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Larry Jenkins said:
Replacing lock washers is a good suggestion. I replaced most of mine with stainless steel. Then painted them with VHT 650 black gloss epoxy paint.

I like the 650 because it dries to that unique sort of "semi-gloss" finish that the original had. And no rust!
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I've always found that the coating on new lock washers etc... is difficult to get paint to adhere to. I remove the plating by dipping the parts in a muratic acid water solution for a short time. My mixture is something like 2 parts acid to two parts water. It only takes 20 seconds or so to remove the plating on most hardware.
 
1crosscut said:
I've always found that the coating on new lock washers etc... is difficult to get paint to adhere to. I remove the plating by dipping the parts in a muratic acid water solution for a short time. My mixture is something like 2 parts acid to two parts water. It only takes 20 seconds or so to remove the plating on most hardware.
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Stainless steel lock washer are bare. Dip them in a good cleaner; wipe clean; lay on a board and spray. When dry, turn over and repeat. Done.
 
Harbor freight ******** ,green pills, water , detergent, 24-48 hours , coat with wd40 on removal . even real rusty & greasy parts come out like new, inspect & keep the good ones , one of the best tools I have bought , got the large one .
 
If you don't want your clean bare metal parts to rust you can Parkerize them at home for cheap. Vendors sell the chemical on eBay.
 
I was at a swap meet a few years back, where a guy was selling bags of random Model A nuts and bolts for a few bucks-very, very useful to have. Using new lock washers is good, but does anyone make the coined-edge washers like the originals? a small detail, but very noticeable.
 
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