Topic: Going to try phospate and oil finish

[Bongoman]

I've decided I am going to try to recreate the phosphate and oil finish on my hood hinges and hood latch.  After some research, I've determined I am going to use Lauer's manganese phosphate solution.

A couple of questions for those who have attempted this:

1.  I understand you need to heat the solution in a stainless steel vessel.  What have you used?  I believe someone (Jeff Speegle?) mentioned they only heat the water and add it to the solution in a plastic tub/bucket.  You can't sustain the heat that way but I'm guessing the residual heat from the (near) boiling water is enough to get the process to work.  Thoughts?

2. What oil have you used?  Some people swear by WD-40 and others have said plain old motor oil. 

Thanks.

[Sunlitgold68]

There's a place in CA that can do it for you if you decide against doing it yourself. He did all my phoshating and it looks nice.

www.brakeboosters.com

[Bongoman]

Thanks Sunlit.  I'm going to try it myself but will keep this guy's number handy if and when things go horribly wrong and I end up with purple hinges.

[CharlesTurner]

Keep in mind that the method you strip the parts to be phosphated has a major effect on the final appearance.  Hard abrasives will give the parts a "frosty" look, which is not what you want.  I recommend medium grit glass bead, sprayed in a cabinet around 40-50psi. 

Make sure you clean/degrease the parts before they go in the solution.

I recommend soaking in regular 30 weight motor oil for 24 hours.  Rinse all the parts in water after they come out of the solution and then blow dry before dropping in oil.

[Bongoman]

Thanks Charles.  All good advice. 

Permit me to ask another question.  Are the hood hinge bolts and the hood latch bolts also phosphate and oil finish?  If not, what is the finish?

Thanks.

[macdude67]

those 2 items are hard to phosphate because they are long so you need about a 5 to 6 by 12" pan that is at least 4 to 5" deep maybe a bit longer for the hinges and the solution sould be continually heated during the process. and same with the oil pan. oil treatment works best if part is completely submerged during the cooldown and WD-40 works great.