Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Does anyone know of a good way to clean the rust and grime off? I'd like to reuse the ones that are in good condition in my old trucks and others that I've accumulated over the years.

I've used petroleum jelly and other rust removers before but these won't protect the metal once the rust is gone. I'm hoping there is something else out there that works better.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Either have them beadblasted, or just buy new ones. Nuts and bolts are cheap. I've also tumbled some in my brass shell casing tumbler.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Chemtool Carb Cleaner That You Soak Carbs In Works Good Too.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

places like eastwood harbor frieght northern tools as well as tptools have a media vibrator thats inexpensive simply put its a bucket of blast media that vibrates you put the small objects like nuts and bolts in come back later and theyre done ready for paint or oxide coating or however you want

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Make a buzzwheel from an electric motor and a wire wheel. Works good.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

:confused: Ratrod... Not sure what a buzzwheel is.


re: other options. I do have a can of carb cleaner. I'll try that. I'm also going by Harbor Freight to see what they have.

The ones I'm thinking of reusing are mainly the sheetmetal type. I'd like to reuse some of the ones I have since they look to be in good shape other than surface rust. Hate to just discard them.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

just soak them in WD-40, may sound like a hick but you will be surprised how well WD-40 works on stuff. I have used it to take tar off the side of my 1970 olds, and it should even protect the nuts and bolts

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

:agree: this is what I do. I use the Caswell black oxide process.

www.caswellplating.com

Otherwise...

www.totallystainless.com

:)

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Alot of the original bolts for my 66 Chevelle and 72 GMC truck have certain markings on the head of the bolt. It's hard to find them like tha anymore. For instance, the front end body bolts on my 66 and 72 have big "C"'s in them. I just used a wire wheel, and a pair of needle nose vice grips. Then I poked the bolts thru a cardboard box and shot the heads of the bolts with a clear spray.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Here is what I do and it works well. Wire brush the heck outa em. De-grease with a powerful detergent like POR 15 Marine Clean, then Soak in Ospho, POR 15 Metal Ready or something like Rust Mort. They are Phosphouric acid based. Leave them in a plastic coffee can over night submerged. Take them out and rinse off, maybe clean the residue with a soft brush. You want to leave the powdery looking finish, or etching. Then paint over them with a thin layer of Rust Shield or POR 15 followed by a thin coat of any flat black, I use Rustoleum. Look good.
:metal:

I know that new ones aren't that expensive, but if you like original stuff and love doing it yourself................go for it.

I have also used the salts for the black oxide finish before. It is equaly as fun!!!!!
Google it, buy the chemicals from chemistry supply source and throw it in a steel can or old pot and heat up to a liquid. Very inexpensive fun and another one to stay outside outa the way with so ya don't lose piles of truck points!!!!:drama:

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

I forgot to mention that this is the fstener of choice finish I use for all of my engine bolts. Black just looks right!!!!:cool:

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

To get all the old rust, grease and paint off dunk them in a mixture of muratic acid and water. Strips it all off quickly. I use it to clean up all my rust encrusted parts. Just be sure to do this in a well ventilated area and wear protection. You will also need chemical resistant gloves. As the fumes are strong and the acid will burn you. They sell this at hardware and pool stores. I got a 5 gallon bucket, 40% acid to 60% water, to dip parts and stuff. As for keeping them from rusting when done paint them or plate them, your choice.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Eastwood has quite a few options.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?i...emType=CONTENT

DLB

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

I do the same thing. Works great

Mike

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

I toss a few handfuls into a Gatorade bottle, fill halfway with old ATF, put the lid on, and then let the bottle roll around in the back for the truck for a week or two. this removes all the loose crap, and most of the rust. Best of all, it takes very little effort.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

:lol: Now, that's my idea of cleaning bolts. I'll throw the bottle in the back of my bush hog shredder. That'll bounce them around some. May even throw in a handful of sand to help.

I've gotten quite a few ideas, appreciate the suggestions. I hadn't thought of the muriatic acid thing. I still have some left over from some gun barrel cleaning and bluing I was doing last year.

Chevydog, I also wanted to keep the original look on these bolts. I went to one of the local places and they were selling a similar looking bolt- .41 plus tax (almost .50) each.

Don't want to sound cheap, but if I can clean them for a few pennies and reuse them, I'll save a few more dollars for the paint job later.. I have a lot of them from an old truck I dismantled years ago. And I have two classics I'd like to fix up.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

ya beat me to aaron lol ... this works i learned it from my father years ago:c2:

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

the wire wheel takes 20 seconds...

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Ok guys I'm about to blow your minds. I tried a bunch of solvents that only halfway works and made my garage stink to high heaven but not anymore. Instead of buying clr or evaporust for 15 + dollars a quart you can just go down to your Lucan Walmart and pick yourself up a gallon of apple cider vinegar. 3.50 I think is Wat a gallon goes for but this stuff WORKS.i grabbed all my rusty hardware in a gallon bucket and let it sit a few days and this nasty looking surface foam started to appear but the bolts look brand new. It won't peel paint its non toxic and cheap. Try it put see if it works for u guys. But n
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Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

apple cider vinegar (or even regular vinegar) work great.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

one note on the cautions already mentioned with muratic acid. As a high school kid, I discovered just how well muratic acid worked and used it carefully to clean a bunch of old parts down to bare metal and get rid of the rust. Two lessons I learned the hard way... Disposal and storage. To give you an idea of how caustic the stuff is - I poured a little out on the blacktop driveway and it ate straight throught the driveway. Then, I made the mistake of leaving the container open in my dad's workshop only to come out the next morning to find the finish eaten off his tools just from the fumes.

Be very careful using this stuff. I believe chem gloves were mentioned - but an absolute must is a good set of safety glasses that SEAL. You can be careful all you want, but accidents happen even when you're careful, so be prepared. A couple rusty bolts aren't worth an eyeball. On that happy note.... I agree, muratic acid is a great way to do this stuff - ok, an effective way, anyway. But there are MANY other very safe products out there nowadays that have come out in the last 10 years or so that work just as well. Yes, I still have some in the garage - it's in a very tightly sealed container... I can still remember the look on my dad's face when he saw his tools. i thought I was a dead man :lol:

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

I just use Castrol Super Clean.
Works great, and I just steal wool the rust off.
I put all the nuts and bolts in a shallow pan, so that I can fish them out with pliers.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

Vinegar works great!!!

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

I have hoarding problem when it comes to saving nuts,bolts and washers too. Even if they are rustier than rust.

Re: Cleaning up old nuts and bolts ?
 

I have used a rust converter works good.