@Chris Where's the fun in that?
Actually, I did buy a hardware kit, and it has all the basics- washers, lock nuts, etc... but it didn't come with any of the more special bits. The parts that really started me on the plating path were the case through bolts; a new set of those with their washers is around $800 iirc, so cleaning up and re-plating my original ones seemed like a good idea. As the plating shop has a minimum order size, I just threw in a bunch of other hardware. I never really planned on re-plating the easily replaceable stuff- and I like the idea of new hardware, especially for things like lock washers, crush washers and other things like that which may have been overly deformed or stressed over time.
To me, it's all a balance... and part of getting that right is learning about the pain and/or expense of the different options. I'm trying to keep this ride mostly original, so I like the idea of reusing as much as I can; but obviously (and to your point) hand cleaning and plating every old washer on the car wouldn't make sense. So, I guess I'm just trying to find the sweet spot between all new stuff and all old stuff!
I gather that a lot of the hardware we can buy today, while functionally sound, might not have the same original plating. So for anyone who has to have 100% correct colors for each nut and bolt (and that's not me...) then re-plating is the only option. For example, Jpnovak mentioned in the DIY plating thread that he buys a lot of new bulk hardware in clear zinc for cheap then re-plates it to whatever he wants:
Quote:
Originally Posted by jpnovak
Better living through chemistry.
I plate a lot of hardware. I buy clear zinc coated (cheap) in bulk and then use the Caswell Chromate materials and process to color them. It is pretty simple.
...
 |
Anyway, as usual, there's always more than one right way to do things.
-Jake