Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

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Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Jody »

As you may be aware I recently bought a high milage KTM690. It's in remarkable condition for its mileage (over 20,000) but what lets it down are the fasteners. They are almost all rusty and cruddy :(

I don't really fancy spending £200 + (at a guess) with KTM for new fasteners so I'm looking for a way to rejuvenate the ones I have.

I am happy to spend £200 on equipment / products if I have something left over for the next job IYSWIM.

44 teeth on youtube recently mentioned getting fasteners plated, but I don't know with what or by whom!

What have you guys and girls tried/had success with ?

TIA
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by KungFooBob »

I watched this the other day, he cleans and plates the fasteners about halfway through.

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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

IME cleaning them with a wire brush and then painting them after they're installed works, plating them is good, but the plating doesn't last long if you're moving them regularly, so you might as well paint them as you can always repaint them when the paint comes off.

I'd also add that I buy stainless bolts in large quantities (usually at least 100 at a time) and replace anything unstressed with them, anything stressed needs to be high tensile, handlebar bolts especially need to be high tensile, there's a lot of force on them.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by weeksy »

Don't paint them... at all... ever... never fucking ever !
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

weeksy wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:10 pm Don't paint them... at all... ever... never fucking ever !
Why is that?
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by weeksy »

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:15 pm
weeksy wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:10 pm Don't paint them... at all... ever... never fucking ever !
Why is that?
Because it's rubbish, it looks cheap and nasty, because well, it's cheap and nasty.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

weeksy wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:16 pm
Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:15 pm
weeksy wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 4:10 pm Don't paint them... at all... ever... never fucking ever !
Why is that?
Because it's rubbish, it looks cheap and nasty, because well, it's cheap and nasty.
Looks okay if the paint is the same colour as whatever is behind the bolt, but it is a cheap solution, the best solution is new bolts, I've never seen plating look very good unless it was done at the factory.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Count Steer »

There's quite a few Youtubes on nickel plating stuff like nuts and bolts but by the time you've bought a tumbler, tank, rectifier, chemicals etc and got the voltages/current and timings worked out you might as well find a local electroplating shop. Lots of places have them tucked away - quick google shows 3 in easy reach of here so it's worth googling 'electroplating near me'.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

Painting also means tools don't fit right. OE stuff is generally only painted when the connection is never meant to be unmade.

Count's suggestion is a good one, you might be suprised at how many really good firms are tucked away in random little places. There're a million and one of them in this part of the UK 'cause we're in the "Motorsport Valley" (there are at least six F1 teams within 60 mins drive of my house) but there are loads of 'em about.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

We copper plated a compass in Chemistry at High School in 1982, I remember it being pretty easy.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by KungFooBob »

In 1992 I got copper sulphate in my eye during a science lesson and had to go A&E.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Count Steer »

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:07 pm We copper plated a compass in Chemistry at High School in 1982, I remember it being pretty easy.
Once you're set up it's not ever so complicated with nickel but you really need a tumbler to prep them, an etching bath+power supply and a plating tank+agitator+rectifier/power supply and chemicals. Then you need to know current/time for the etching (you can just watch it fizz for a minute) then current/timing for the thickness of plating you want. You might want to coat the threads to stop them changing diameter as the nickel will 'fatten them up'. An ultrasonic degreaser wouldn't go amiss either. You might want an extract hood too.

Nah. Use the experts.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Mr. Dazzle »

Also the strong "CBA" factor :D

You'd have to be plating alot of stuff before it becomes easier than just getting a man in.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

Where's the fun in that, no opportunity to splash toxic chemicals about, ruin various metal items and generally fuck things up, on your death bed do you want to be the man who taught himself electro plating or the man who paid some one to do it?
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by KungFooBob »

Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:43 pm on your death bed do you want to be the man who taught himself electro plating or the man who paid some one to do it?
It depends, is it the electroplating that put me on my death bed?
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

KungFooBob wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:47 pm
Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 8:43 pm on your death bed do you want to be the man who taught himself electro plating or the man who paid some one to do it?
It depends, is it the electroplating that put me on my death bed?
Possibly, of course you could be like my father, make up anecdotes to impress other people, tell them so often that you end up believing them your self and believe you're the person you wanted to be when you die. Weirdly people believed his outlandish stories over the truth, he told people I was in the SAS, no matter how many times I deny it they don't believe me, I wasn't even in the Army.
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Skub »

Bollox to all that. Ti bolts look the best. 8-)
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Count Steer »

Skub wrote: Mon Dec 06, 2021 9:00 pm Bollox to all that. Ti bolts look the best. 8-)
Electroplated with titanium FTW! Steel tensile strength, titanium bling!

(Unfortunately you'd need to be Harry Potter and know the 'titaniamus' spell :( It's pretty much impossible. Not totally but almost).
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Le_Fromage_Grande »

I've got titanium nuts, the barstards have chemically welded themselves to some steel threads
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Re: Restoring Nuts, bolts and fasteners

Post by Horse »

Do you always walk like that?
Le_Fromage_Grande wrote: Tue Dec 07, 2021 7:15 am I've got titanium nuts
Even bland can be a type of character :wave: