Topic: Preparing Large Amounts of Rusty Hardware for Phosphating?

[drummingrocks]

This may be a pipe dream--I may be looking for a product that doesn't exist.

I recently bought a sizeable stash of parts.  Among the parts was a ton of original hardware that the gentleman had collected over the years.  Most of it is in decent shape, but some of it has surface rust, and a few of the bolts have been painted over.  This is mostly small stuff--bolts and nuts for fenders, window regulators, and other body panels.

There's way too many pieces to try and tackle them individually with my blasting cabinet.  Is there any product out there that would remove the rust/paint, and etch the metal to prepare it for phosphating?  Again, I know I may be looking for a shortcut that doesn't exist.  I was hoping there might be some way to do both the stripping and etching processes in one step.

Any advice is appreciated!   

[jwc66k]

Try this "Phosphating 101" - http://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=4624.0
Jim

[drummingrocks]

Try this "Phosphating 101" - http://www.concoursmustang.com/forum/index.php?topic=4624.0
Jim

Thanks, Jim, excellent write-up!  I was hoping to avoid buying a parts tumbler.  And am I correct that your write-up says you still have to glass bead all of the items after they go through the Berrymans and the parts tumbler?

[DKutz]

Evaporust??

[Toploader]

Evaporust??

          vvv

and a few of the bolts have been painted over.

[DKutz]

          vvv

ok then evaporust then paint stripper.....

[jwc66k]

And am I correct that your write-up says you still have to glass bead all of the items after they go through the Berrymans and the parts tumbler?

I developed a process sequence that was not labor intensive. At the time I had four 65-66 cars. I found that even after the soaking and tumbling there was still paint in the recess of the heads of bolts, bits of crud in the threads of both bolts and nuts and other bits of non-desirable residue. Bead blasting was the next logical step, and I figured out how to do blasting in bulk. There is another feature of blasting and the glass beads I use have an effect of softening the zinc finish. I used almost the same steps on painted parts but the blasting does not seem to make any difference of surfaces on new paint.
When you use Evaporust on a part you need to get the final finish on the part in a week or two or it will begin to rust again. Read their spec sheets. Even if you do use it, you need to blast to get a better finish anyway. Part of the process of zinc plating is an acid dip, but that is to remove residual oil so as to not contaminate the plating tank.
Jim 

[drummingrocks]

Thanks, everyone, for the comments and advice.  I've got a pretty good idea of where to go from here.  And Jim, thanks again for the writeup on the whole process!

[KevinK]

So, am I correct to assume Evaporust will remove all the finishes on hardware except paint?

-Blackened hardward needs to be re-blackend and treated.
-Phosphate and oil parts need to be cleaned and then re-phosphate and oil.
-Zinc plated need to be replated.
-Silver/Gold cadinum plated need to be replated.

Did I miss anything?