Im currently rebuilding my truck. Alot of parts are painted and ready to be installed back on the truck. My only issue is that all the bolts i have to reinstall everything are all rusty and crappy.. I dont want to spend 350 bucks for a bolt kit so i want to clean them.. Im thinking of doing the electrolysis. Anyone with experience in this area? Basically i have bags of bolts that i want to clean, and paint..... Using a wire wheel will just take to long and i wont get in all the cracks of the nuts and bolts... And my sand blaster just makes an effin MESSS...

I have a few pics of the project if anyone cares. Its a chevy.

 

You can use a rubbermaid tub, baking soda mixed with water and a battery charger. There are lots of instructions on the web for this.

 

ya, i got that. I was just wanting to get some first hand experience, or better yet someone with a different method they have tried...

 

I've heard of people using a brass tumbler or something for cleaning gun parts to clean up bolts. Probably a bit less messy, I've done the electrolysis thing on cast iron parts and it's not THAT great, I ended up having to clean them manually a little afterward.

 

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=96431

I heard this works REALLY WELL.

 

Ok, my Harbor Freight has it in stock so im going to go pick some up. This is kinda what i was looking for.

I will give it a shot and let you guys know.

 

God, I miss my old '69 GMC pickup. They don't build them like that anymore.

 

Well it aint gonna happen, so you blast/tumble the bolts and they'd just rust again. What some people do here is they take the bolts to be acid bathed after which they are re-galvanized. But then again even your engine looks so good, i'd just go and get the bolt kit.

 

I've used electrolysis on my downpipe, manifold, and some other stuff. Used vinegar on some bolts, but vinegar is acidic and continues to rust through though. Be sure to dry everything pretty quickly once done with the electrolysis.

 

zinc coated bolts are teh sex....those old chevys only use about 5 different bolts,lol . I'd be half tempted to put together a parts list and order some never rust again bolts

 

I clean fasteners with this tumbler from Eastwood.

 

Almost. Using baking soda won't do the trick, you'll need washing soda (should be able to find it with the laundry detergents). I tried the process on a few old pieces of metal I found around the yard and it worked well. Takes a little testing to try and get the water:soda mixture right, but it's pretty easy.

Oh and use rebar for your leads into the water. I chose to use one of my files and the reaction ate up the coating on it and it's ruined now.

 

two things that help speed the process are 1: use hot water and 2: instead of using a single rod as the anode cut a strip of thin steel sheet to match the height of the part and cut it long enough to form circle around the part.

 

You mean rust traps, ill fitting panels. ahaha. Ya, i love these things. I got my inner fenders done so i should be driving this thing in a week or two. No windows of course. ahah

Its going to be a driver. If you put some paint on em, it will last as long or not longer then the factory. Thanks for the compliment on the engine. I waited for along time to have a big block. ahah..

I didnt use the vinegar, i went with the Harbor freight stuff..

I have been half tempted MANY times. Whats weird is some bolts are SAE, some are metric. ahah. ITs like, they put on what they had around the shop at the time.

Thats what i was kinda looking for. How much did that cost?



Good info....

what i finally went with was that evapo rust. When i saw it i was a bit skeptical. I opened the container and it had NO smell. ZERO. Its biodegradable and non toxic. Well, i took the front door and fender bolts and put them in a container and filled it up.. Let it sit over night. When i opened the container it had an acid smell to it. Very distinct. I rinsed everything off, wire brushed it and dried it... It came out REALLY good... Some bolts were to far gone to reuse, but after drying everything, and applying some paint i couldnt be happier..

Now i just have 6 or 7 more bags of bolts i have to do... I will post some pics when i get home...

 

Glad it worked out for you.

Try dumping the 6-7 bags in a bucket, and get some before and after pictures.

Thats the best part, its BioSafe!

 

damn, in for pics. if i see bio degradable and non-toxic i usually walk away as they don't seem to do **** most cases. but this might actually be worth looking into.