Cleaning up anodized nickel

[GRSHOPR]

Ok, so all of the various screws and small bolts all over the bodies of our cars, are starting to corrode. Anyone got suggestions on how to restore them, or clean them up to looking fresh again? Thanks.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

If they are corroded already then they have to be re-plated to look like new again. Eastwood makes a spray that tries to re-create the plated appearance, but reviews are mixed.

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[Ange]

replace them with ss or alu?

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

stainless bolts are grade 2, too weak for anything but trim pieces. aluminum bolts are even weaker.

http://reviews.ebay.com/Stainless-Bo...00000001623345

[GRSHOPR]

Maybe just easier to paint them? I'm assuming replating them is difficult?

[Ange]

stainless bolts are grade 2, too weak for anything but trim pieces. aluminum bolts are even weaker.

eBay Guides - Stainless Bolts--Usually very weak

really didn't know ss was weaker. was planning on replacing all mine with ss eventually lol.

titanium then

[MeTarzan]

stainless bolts are grade 2, too weak for anything but trim pieces. aluminum bolts are even weaker.

Well we deal with lots of SS bolts and most are Grade 5 which is PSI rating of 125,000 PSI. A grade 8 bolt has a stronger rating with a PSI of 150,000.
so unless its attaching your drive shaft or a suspension component a SS bolt would a good choice as long as you remember to put a little dab of anti-seize on the threads.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

Well we deal with lots of SS bolts and most are Grade 5 which is PSI rating of 125,000 PSI. A grade 8 bolt has a stronger rating with a PSI of 150,000.
so unless its attaching your drive shaft or a suspension component a SS bolt would a good choice as long as you remember to put a little dab of anti-seize on the threads.

I have no clue where you work, but the average consumer stainless bolt is grade 2 as I said and the email link explains. Naturally you can get bolts from ARP or other sources that are strong enough, but the bolts your average person is going to have access to are going to be soft to use..

[MeTarzan]

Well I work at a Fabrication shop and we use SS fasteners alot.... we supply our Rear diff covers with SS socket head cap bolts and haven't had one pop off yet

[99ishVR-4]

The stock coating is zinc plating with yellow chromate. You can take them all to a plating shop and they will strip and replate them for you. The average price I have found is around $75 for 10lbs and that is usually the minimum order they will do. So you would have to do it in one big batch job maning your car will be in pieces for a week. You can also get them done in a clear chromate which just looks silver, and if you polish up all your bolts before you take them, the shinier they will be when the come back. The zinc layer will show defects through the coating so if your bolt is half rusted away, it will still look bad.

While it is harder to find, a comination of tin-zinc or zinc-nickel plating gives you almost double the corrosion resistance as zinc alone and they still have a nice silver appearance.

Eastwood and caswell both sell kits to do it yourself, obviously the benifit is that you can go at your own pace and not have everything taken apart at once. But be prepared for some tedious work.

If you go with any of the above options, absolutely make sure that the plater you use bakes after coating to relieve any hydrogen embrittlement. Especially any suspension related fasteners. Any time you combine acid(whats used to pickle before plating) to with high strenght steel, there is a risk of hydrogen seeping into the metal and can cause the bolt to fail. Baking for a certain time relieves this usually.

I would recommend any of these options over ss replacements. This way you get to keep your factory hardware that was selected specifically for your car. It seems 90% of the bolts on our car have a captive washer and lockwasher, very hard to find in a universal ss bolt. Also get used to antisieze all over everything anytime you do any work. Just makes extra work for an inferior performing fastener. No offence to people that have them, they do look nice.