Topic: Cleaning nuts and bolts...

[Oz390]

Anyone used one of these, or similar, for cleaning up old nuts and bolts?

http://www.aussiesapphire.com.au/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=89_118&products_id=1711

If so, what media is best for removing rust and scale in one of these?

[J_Speegle]

Have had some of these but never found them really useful for cleaning nuts and bolts - Just my experiences

[Bob Gaines]

I have used the small vibratory bowl tumblers with good results. They can save a lot of time . They will not get threads clean on bolts or inside nuts  but you do a secondary step and soak in a rust dissolver like oxi solve or the like. This whole process saves a lot of tedious blasting on those hard to handle in the blast cabinet small parts.    The green triangle media works good. you need to put a little water in or other liquid ,super clean if greasy etc. because it works better then dry. Besides Eastwood ,harbor freight sells them cheep. Bob

[Oz390]

Thanks for the info, as noted looking to avoid the tedious blasting or wire wheeling of a 5 gallon bucket of miscellanoues bits.  Figured dropping a handful at a time in one of these and leaving it running for an afternoon or more would save a lot of time and not-too-fun labor... like working on the cars but this is one task I don't enjoy..

[cobrajetchris]

I spent years wire brushing and blasting bolts until I found EVAPO-RUST. This is a water base product that safely removes rust. This stuff works great on rusted bolts and will remove the rust without removing the original plating in most cases. The threads will come out like new. I was a skeptic until I used it and have since became a distributor. The product can be purchased at O'RIELY A/P, AUTOZONE and HARBOR FRIEGHT for about $25.00 per gallon. I can ship you some as well however shipping gets expensive due to being a liquid, but if that is your only option, send me a email.

[68 S Code]

I concur with evaporust. Especially for fasteners. Magic! Now here is a downside. I have found it to strip off plating. Especially zinc di-chromate. If the solution gets contaminated with dirt and grease it looses much of it's ability to de-rust quickly plus fasteners come out looking dark like they are phoshated. If you are going to have them plated or phoshated then you will still have to either blast or tumble to remove residual evaporust for even plating. So dip, tumble and plate. I need a new 5 gal bucket.

[Sunlitgold68]

Your plater will use a cleaning solution before the plating. You only need to remove any paint.

[68 S Code]

Well I saw fiorst hand what a small tumbler can on fasteners. Amazing! The guy bought it at Harbor freight for $60 and another $12 for the media. After seeing the finished product I'm sold. I think dipping in evaporust for a day and then throwing it into the tumbler for a couple of hours will get you fasteners which look brand new. No more standing at the bead blast cabinet for me.

[68 S Code]

Well the first batch of bolts was impressive with the green media. The next batch didn't clean up so well so I decided to add some sand into the mix and try again. Did OK but ended up puttingthose bolts into evaporust as well. The last batch didn't go so well. Even after 6 hours of tumbling maybe half came out OK and the other half just bad. Did I goof up by adding the sand? Biggest problem seems to be with screws. Mainly the ones which hold many components like brake line clips and electrical components in the engine bay. The green media seemed too big to clean the heads and threads so that's why i added the sand. Would glass beads work better? What are you guys using for the small screws. Initially impressed but not so sure now.

[Oz390]

Found a local distributor for the Evaporust prodcuts.  Will give them a try. 

Will probably buy a small tumbler as well, but have not had much luck from the local vendors on recomended media as most here seem to be lapidary based and unfamiliar with auto parts....

[68 S Code]

You will be amazed with evaporust results but make sure not to contaminate it with grease/oil. Be very careful with grease in ball joints and steering gearboxes. lost a 5 gallon bucket because i was not careful. Could have used it now on some fasteners. Time to get a new bucket.

[e093116]

I've had good luck with small parts by placing them on magnetic trays and blasting away.  Less frustrating and faster than trying to hold on to each part.

Also had good results with stringing up nuts or washers on a piece of safety wire and getting the edges of many pieces at one time, then doing the fronts/backs in the magnetic tray.

 

[390Pony]

I purchased one of the bowl vibrators with the green triangle media some time ago. Repeated attempts, continued poor results. Your money is better spent on other methods..IMHO.

[68 S Code]

In the directions which came with my tumbler the manufacturer mentioned that customers have tried their own media such as wood dowels, steel shot etc with great results. has anyone tried something that seemed to work exceptionally well for fasteners?

[Bob Gaines]

I purchased one of the bowl vibrators with the green triangle media some time ago. Repeated attempts, continued poor results. Your money is better spent on other methods..IMHO.

I fill it so i can see water ,degreaser or other liquid just in between the green pyramids . I usually let it vibrate over night. I have had excellent results with more small dish type. One of these days Charles I will upgrade. It does have its limits with heavily rusted parts. I have vibrated with rust remover liquids too but don't like to because that is a expensive mix. Just thought I would mention the liquid which I feel is a necessary part in case you weren't using any. It sure is a lot easier then haveing to do a bunch by hand in the blaster plus it retains more of the original finish that the blaster takes away in some instances. Metal shot makes some bead blasted surfaces look more true also I have found . You have to experiment a little. Bob