Restoration finishes for bolts & hardware?

[boyo]

I'm starting a 914 project, which will include a new paint job for the body, and powder coating for most the other parts. This is the kind of look I'm going for: http://www.scargoracing.com/motorbcksideL2.jpg


Any suggestions on finishes for bolts and other threaded parts? Chrome plating is too expensive, what about polished zinc plating? Is this going to be durable enough?

I think powder coating is too thick for threads. What have others used, and do you have pics of the result?

It should be a durable finish, though using teflon sockets isn't out of the question. Thanks!

-Boyo (aka Dennis)

[tmk]

Zinc plating will not polish well. Buy stainless steel hardware and buff polish it. It will hold a shine very good.

TMK
73 2.1L

[Conrad W Peden]

How about Cad plating like all of the original stuff. Can't show you a pic of it but just look at most of the original nuts and bolts on your car. At least the ones that haven't seen much traffic should still be a good example of the cad plating.

Conrad Peden
72 L20E + 1 dent
73 L20E in resto. soon to be raced-o http://members.rennlist.com/a914lover
a914lover@sprint.ca

[S Schroeder]

When I did my motor I spent a great deal of time detailing the he** out of it. Painting the engine tins a color rather than black made a huge difference - mine are a bright blue. I then replaced all of the engine tin screws. I then cleaned or painted (in the original colors) all of the bolt on items and (very important) replaced all of the gaskets and small hardwear (hose clamps, misc exposed nuts and bolts, etc)This, combined with a rediculously clean engine compartment gave me an extremely good looking engine compartment that is sort of a cross between showy and concours - and I didn't break the bank doing it. One thin to remember, chrome does not dissapate heat very well, and in our cars we don't need any extra heat.
-Scott S

[boyo]

Looks like cadmium is banned in most places these days - but there are a lot of faux cadmium finishes out there which can be plated on at home. Good suggestion!

I'm also looking at a black oxide finish. www.eastwoodco.com sells a "dip" for this, so it sounds cheap & simple. But not colorful...

-Boyo (aka Dennis)

[boyo]

I just did a web search on "cadmium plating" and most the sites I came up with were on how toxic the process was, how it was banned in many countries, etc... Yep, I found places that still do it too, but it's likely to be as expensive as chroming.

Tin-zinc plating is supposed to be economical, can be done at home, and can be polished. Wonder if there are ways to infuse color, like with aluminum anodizing...

-Boyo

[neilca]

I used the Eastwood plating system on a Mercedes motor I restored. It does not give you 100% corrosion protection. You need to overcoat with a clear paint to keep the bolts from rusting. Really your best bet is to go to a good hardware store and get boxes of new hardware which are zinc plated (this is a standard coating for bolts) and replace all the hardware. In the long run it is cheaper. As for coloring, steels have a limited. Anodizing of aluminum is common in different colors but this process doesn't work for steel. Other than paint I don't know a process for coloring steel.
neil