Hardware Restoration Process Needed

[Mark P.]

I am planning a frame off and was planning to bag and mark every piece I remove with plenty of pictures.

If I send a bucket of bolts and nuts to my plater what would be a good way to identify the bolts and get them back into the bagsc when I get them back ?

Is the Paraon bolt chart sufficient to do this or do I need to photogragh each bolt type and note the head markings, thread size and length ?

[Gary C.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

Mark, my recommendation is to take photos of parts laid onto a note book paper or larger with note written below them as to what they are. Or punch hole in a piece of cardboard and it bolts/screws push them through the hold and write below the size and application. There are so many variables it's best to document what came from where on your particular car. JMTCW, Gary....

[Alan D.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

"Is the Paraon bolt chart sufficient to do this or do I need to photogragh each bolt type and note the head markings, thread size and length ?"
No on the chart and yes on documenting each with photo ect.

Optional; get material to do plating yourself (at least for the small stuff) that way restoration can be done a section at a time since no waiting for turn around.
Do a search since many members have done just that.

[Mike G.]

What I will do next time is....

as you dissassemble the car, mark up your AIM with the size, length, fine vs coarse pitch, finish, and headmark (or type for screws, such as phillips-integral washer or inverted hex head).

I ended up on my '65 with ~ 4 flanged nuts, RBW headmark 3/8", that I lost track of their location. Somewhere on the rear tranny mount, I believe. I rushed the disassembly process, not appreciating the importance of documentation.

[Tony S.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

I've been through this before several times. It's an important but very boring and tedious job. Here's how I do it: I bag each part with identification written on each bag to tell me what is what. I then individually clean each bolt/nut etc. I then consecutively number a note card or sheet of paper and write the measurement and head marks from each bolt on to the note card and photo the bolts with the note card in the photo. Then create a list of each photo you take with the consecutive numbers for reference. Once you go through all of that, you can put your nuts and bolts in two boxes: one for zinc/cad clear and the other for black phosphate. When you get everything back from the platers, you can identify what is what following your photos and ledger.

It is a tedious, boring job but it is really important to get it right. If you don't, you're left buying repro bolts because you can't remember what is what in your boxes of newly plated parts.

Hope this helps.
Good luck.
Tony

[Tony S.]

ps.

Regardless of whether you media blast or chemically clean your hardware, be sure to wire wheel your plated parts afterwards. If you only media blast them, it leaves a rough surface and the new plating doesn't look that nice. You need to leave a nice clean, SMOOTH surface so that the new plating looks shiny and new.

Good luck.
Tony

[Chuck S.]

Re: ps.

Regardless of whether you media blast or chemically clean your hardware, be sure to wire wheel your plated parts afterwards. If you only media blast them, it leaves a rough surface and the new plating doesn't look that nice. You need to leave a nice clean, SMOOTH surface so that the new plating looks shiny and new...

Very good advice.

Tony means to wire wheel everything you want shiny BEFORE you send them to the plater. This is particularly true on relay covers or other stamped metal parts that should have a shiny plated finish. Be careful you don't make "wire scratches" on stamped parts by brushing them too aggressively.

The wire wheel burnishes the bead blasted surface and makes the surface smoother. If you plate the surface "as-blasted" with clear zinc or cad, you will obtain a matte silver finish. Acid cleaned parts are less susceptible to the matte finish if they were only lightly rusted before cleaning. On some parts, a matte finish may be what you may want.

[Alan S.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

Hi Mark,
ALL the suggestions are good ones.
I found the Paragon chart to be useful as a GUIDE as to what ONE of the head markings was, that was used, in a certain location. You have to remember that there were often more than one supplier for a particular fastener and thus there may be more than one head mark that's appropriate. As an example: the front bumper brace to side extension bolts on my 71 had 'A' markings on the right side and 'F' markings on the left. One box of bolts on the right side and one box on the left side of the production line? They went in the same baggy but with a note and a diagram.
I've saved all my notes and baggies, because I'm still paranoid about throwing something away that I may want to refer to someday. ( In 1971 I threw away the CEC Solenoid IN the cloth bag for the seat shims. It still makes me feel bad. They're two of the few missing parts from my car).
Regards,
Alan

PS: The O.K. in the right corner meant that I would reuse the parts in this bag and didn't need to look for suitable replacements.

[Gerard F.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

Mark,

One thing I find useful in addition to the bagging and tagging and photographing the bolts, is to note and draw a sketch of the bolt and head marking, size, washer configuration and finish, right in the Judging Guide for your year, in the section that describes what is expected, and at the time you take each bolt off. You will be surprised with the variances you will have with the Judging Guide. Write them down, underline what should be there and what you have.

When you send them to the plater, you are going to have to separate them from the bags, and separate them into the zinc plated and black phosphate, and remove any tags attached to the bolt. When they come back you will have a couple of buckets of bolts with no tags.

Then as you reassemble, you can go through your Judging Guide and find the right bolts in the bucket for each application.

I don't have this problem as I do my own plating. But if you look through my Judging Guide you will find each bolt documented (at least the ones I've gotten to).

I guess I'm just one of those bolt head marking nuts

[Mark P.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

Jerry - when you plate them yourself did you annneal them afterwards to reduce brittleness ?

Thanks,

Mark

[Gerard F.]

Re: Hardware Restoration Process Needed

Mark,

I don't anneal the bolts which I zinc plate. However the bolts which I do are simply attachment bolts where embrittlement is not an issue.

If you come across a high strength critical bolt, you might consider replacing them with new of the same grade, or cooking them after plating.
I think there is some information in the archives on hydogen embrittlement.

I've just never had the need to anneal them.

For black phosphate which is a protective corrosion process, I don't thing the embittlement is an issue.