Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

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Julian B
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Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

I'd like to replace a fair few nuts and bolts when I re-build my Haflinger but would rather not use BZP (Bright Zinc Plate) finish, as the original bolts had a more muted "colour". Does anyone know what I should be looking for? I have looked on Google but can only find BZP or "self colour" - which would appear to be uncoated and will therefore rust badly.

What do others do?

TIA
Julian B
W Sussex, UK

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heinkeljb
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by heinkeljb »

Julian,

I think you could do worse than ask TR Fasteners in Uckfield. At least they should know what sort of finishes are available and what they are called.

John
Haflinger 703AP LWB 1973 - (Once owned by Lady Sutherland & Sons.) Now called "Lurch" !

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Julian B
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

Thanks John. Popped in to TR Fasteners today; they do BZP, stainless steel & something called Trivalent Coating (TC). TC was almost indistinguishable from BZP visually, and whilst the stainless steel looked nicer (slightly less "bright") it is both expensive and possibly not ideal anyway. So maybe I'm stuck with BZP :(
Julian B
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pathfinder700ap
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by pathfinder700ap »

Hello,

I personally like bright zinc plating - after some time, the parts will get less shiny anyway.
Take care that you get it done the right way, for the Haflinger the "silver" look is usually correct (over here called "blue" zinc plating) while the "golden" (or "yellow") look was hardly ever used for Haflinger parts.

Kind regards,
Constantin
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Julian B
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

Thanks Constantin; I agree that the yellow zinc plating that you can have components dipped in doesn't look right. Last year I had a couple of parts done in yellow (governor actuator rod etc), but I won't make the same mistake again :D
Julian B
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Rick K
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Rick K »

Hi Julian

I purchased a zinc plating kit and replated the original hardware where it was in good condition. It can be a bit tricky, as you need to clean each piece perfectly before plating. This was for my 63 haflinger restoration, where I still had plenty of energy. Later for the army Haflinger I wasnt so fussy, and opted for BZP where high tensile was needed or stainless steel hardware to prevent corosion issues later on.

regards

Rick
1963 Haflinger 700APTL (ex- Hydro Tasmania)
several Puch scooters[/size]
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Julian B
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

Thanks Rick. I did buy a fairly cheap zinc plating kit a couple of years ago, but the results were not great. Whether it was my fault or a poor kit is open to debate, but I fear it was the former :D

Have the BZP bolts softened (visually) over time? And for non critical areas (such as the bolts that attach the wing mirrors to the body) do you think that SS is preferably to BZP?
Julian B
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heinkeljb
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by heinkeljb »

The other way round the problem is to cover the exposed nuts and bolts with either paint or grease or some thing similar to keep the oxygen away. If you use SS nuts, you really should use SS bolts as well or you will still suffer from the Bi-metal corrosion issue.

Other than items which require high torque settings like cylinder heads, SS should be fine for most places. The most obvious issue will be that they don't look the same as all the others!

I will try to post a picture or two of the BZP nuts I have put on Lurch - that would make them anything up to a year old exposed to the outside world.

John
Haflinger 703AP LWB 1973 - (Once owned by Lady Sutherland & Sons.) Now called "Lurch" !

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Rick K
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Rick K »

Hello Julian

I found the bright zinc plated hardware dulled rather quickly, so didnt look so out of place after a year or so. So I have no qualms in using them. However I quite like the original 'Bundu' bolts, which is why I went to the re-plating path.

As John mentioned, there is a possibility of a corrosive reaction when using ss bolts into nuts or threaded inserts of dissimilar metal type (particularly alloys), but I coated all my bolts (ss or zinc coated high tensile bolts) in a thin layer of lanolin to prevent corrosion.

I quite like lanolin- I have a tub of lanolin grease, and bottles of liquid lanolin, and aersols of the stuff so I can flood difficult to access areas to prevent (or halt) corrosion. The Haflinger has a nice 'sheep' aroma.

Also, I found that newly polished alloys can oxidise quickly (leaving a dulled finish and white aluminium oxide powder), so I give all newly cleaned and polished alloy sufaces a thin wipe with lanolin grease- and it stops this process beautifully. The other option is as Dave did, coating the alloy in a laquer.

Hope that helps

Rick
1963 Haflinger 700APTL (ex- Hydro Tasmania)
several Puch scooters[/size]
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Julian B
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

Thanks Rick - I've not used lanolin before - would any of these be the sort of thing to use?

http://www.heritagesteamsupplies.co.uk/ ... 1-297-400/

Edited to add: Does not the application of a non drying product over, say, the gearbox housing, merely lead to problems of grot sticking to it when in use?
Julian B
W Sussex, UK

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Julian B
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

I've just been in to my "local" plating shop, and they can either do the "gold" coloured zinc(?) plating - which I don't want - or BZP which looked OK on some bits they had done for someone else, or they could do nickel plating which he said would probably be the best in that it was less bright than BZP. The downside is that it is markedly more expensive than BZP or "gold" coloured zinc plating.

Whether he is right or not, he suggested that the gold was the most durable, followed by the BZP and then the nickel. He also said that the original stuff may well have been cad(mium) plated, but he is not allowed to use that stuff anymore.

Their website suggests that they can also do chrome plating, but I forgot to ask him about it. I'll let you know how I get on next week ...
Julian B
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heinkeljb
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by heinkeljb »

I agree the original stuff is probably cadmium plated. A lot of vehicles from that sort of time period had that. Cadmium has since been determined to be toxic! (who would have thought it?)
I am sure you know, chrome plating the nuts and bolt will make them look odd, if nothing else compared to the aluminium they would be up against. I know there are various other items which were chrome plates like the headlight guards. Probably a few other same items, but I don't think there are any large items.

As it is YOUR Hafllinger Julian, you are the one who is going to live with it, do the nuts and bolts in which ever plating takes your fancy! If they all look the same - only a purest will know they are not as per the original!

John
Haflinger 703AP LWB 1973 - (Once owned by Lady Sutherland & Sons.) Now called "Lurch" !

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Julian B
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Re: Nuts & Bolts - what plating?

Post by Julian B »

Thanks John. I'm planning to chrome plate the wing mirror stalks and the headlight guards, and will either nickel plate or BZP plate other things depending on price & look. For the various nuts and bolts I will just use BZP and hope that they tone down soon.

UPDATED TO ADD: It seems that to re-chrome my headlamp bars & mirror stalks will cost £££. Might go for stainless steel bars instead, and either shine them up or chrome them instead.
Julian B
W Sussex, UK

| '62 Early Series I SWB | '72 Series II LWB |
| '56 Citroën Traction Avant |
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