Blacken Stuff

[Rey S.]

How do I blacken nuts and bolts here in my garage?
Thanks
Rey Stenhouse 26007
1972 LS-502 Coupe

[Dick W.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Eastwood, Caswell, etc sell kits. You just need a little heat, a container, and the chemicals. Not a big deal

[Rey S.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Thank you Dick
Rey Stenhouse 26007
1972 LS-502 Coupe

[Bill W.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

I have had very good luck with gun blue . I glass bead then wire brush with a fine wheel ,put them in a jar with a few drops of gun blue a quick wipe down then a jar of oil . they look just like the ones from the vendors .

[Chris S.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

I tried Caswell - didnt like it
Sent them out to be professionally done by Detail Plating.

[Rey S.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Sounds easy enough. Would you elaborate a little more on the procedure.
Thanks
Rey Stenhouse 26007
1972 LS-502 Coupe

[Dale O.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Take a look at this web site. http://parkerizingkits.com/index.html I have been using this for black and works great.

[Steven B.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

I have had very good luck with gun blue . I glass bead then wire brush with a fine wheel ,put them in a jar with a few drops of gun blue a quick wipe down then a jar of oil . they look just like the ones from the vendors .

Bill, have you or anyone tried sanding instead of glass beading? If so how did it work? It would seem that sanding would not get into all the areas beading/blasting/dipping does and not have a consistent look?? Thanks! Steve

[Bill W.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Steve .I glass bead everything that gets all the rust and old plating off . The fine wire brush on a bench grinder gives the part a smooth shinny finish the I put a few bolts ,washers or nuts in a small jar and add a a few drops of gun blue swirl it around until all parts are black remove them with a magnet , quick wipe down the soak in oil for a few minutes remove place on paper towel and your ready to go .
You can only use the blacking liquid once . You will learn how much to use . Also you can use any kind of oil ,stp,rear end lube etc. I dont think sanding will work .

[Steven B.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Thanks Bill! Steve

[Dick W.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Bill, have you or anyone tried sanding instead of glass beading? If so how did it work? It would seem that sanding would not get into all the areas beading/blasting/dipping does and not have a consistent look?? Thanks! Steve

I dip in a strong phosphoric acid solution before dipping in the blackening solution

[Steven B.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

I dip in a strong phosphoric acid solution before dipping in the blackening solution

Dick, how long do you keep parts in the solution? (As long as it takes to eat a piece of chocolate cake?)

[Steve L.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

I clean the crud off with acetone if required, blast, then a quick dip in muriatic acid(about 10 seconds) followed by washing in distilled water. The Caswell blackening about 30 seconds. Wash in distilled, dry immediately or it will surface rust immediately. Then satin clear. Caswell has a sealer but I don't use it since it looks like an oil base.

Others will use Parkerizing which probably is better.

I don't wire brush since I have bolts launching and nuts are too hard to hang onto. A brass wire wheel would be better but it's near impossible to find a real brass wheel. Most are brass plated steel. A magnet will sort that out fast.

Still others will have a better opinion on to getting the plating to be exact to factory but it will be more hassle.

In any case, most blackened hardware from the factory should have been outlawed since long term corrosion protection is poor at best.

I haven't seen a workable solution to sending out a bucked full of parts to a platter. This would be the best solution but I haven't seen how to really keep track of it. The home restorer typically does sections of restoration at a time, meaning that the amount of hardware will be a small handful. Platters charge by the pound and will not bag and tag. I'm paranoid of losing track of nuts, washers and bolts at each location plus the direction and stack-up of assembly on some locations. All of this is written down on paper in each bag. Even with that, I sometimes lose track and have to ask for help or the AIM.

Do a search on this, This topic has been covered to death.

[Donald H.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

I purchased a Parkerizing kit from a firearms accessory company call Shooter Solutions. Do some Google searcher on the Parkerizing process which is Phosphating. There are two different solutions Zinc Phosphate, which produces a light gray to medium gray color, and Manganese Phosphate, which produces a dark gray to black. The picture below is of a typical zinc plated bolt that I put through the phosphating process.

The kits are very inexpensive and easy to use. Basically you remove any current zinc plating or other plating from the steel piece and clean it very good. The manganese or zinc phosphate solution is heated and maintained at just below boiling point and the part is dropped in. I used our kitchen cook top and a pyrex dish.

DonBlackened Bolt.jpg

[Dick W.]

Re: Blacken Stuff

Dick, how long do you keep parts in the solution? (As long as it takes to eat a piece of chocolate cake?)

Depends. I use the solution to clean the rust off. It is sort of trial and error, doing, pulling it up to inspect, dipping again until it is clean