nuts

[olev]

What type of finish do people put on their nuts.
I'm sure cadmium and zinc have been mentioned.
Trevor's mate, Jane sells a metal blacking kit that sounds interesting.
Personally I think I'd rather have black nuts than shiney nuts (if they don't rust)
Originality isn't an issue as the tank is an eye watering orange.
Most of the nuts in photo's of others bikes seem to be bright.
Is there a standard or general rule here?
cheers

[MG]

I'm using the CopyCad sstem from Caswell plating (http://www.caswelleurope.co.uk/). It is a dull zinc finish that looks like the original Cad plating. There is some labour involved for cleaning the parts (sandblasting is the fastest way), but the results are brilliant.

[MikeN]

I always use stainless steel.if you bead blast them ,they look quite like cadmium plate.
Mike

[bsa-bill]

I'm for stainless too (go to a reputable dealer though as there are different grades as in steel)
Leave it as it is or bead blast as Mike says or polish it - polished it has a nice soft sheen like alloy which personally I prefer to the hard bright shine of chrome.
To polish nuts screw two onto a long bolt and tighten like locknuts, this gives you something to hold onto. and of course with stainless always lubricate threads.

(lot of decorum being shown in this subject so far - will it last?)

All the best - Bill

[RichardL]

No, it will not last.

First, MG, you say the results are "brilliant." So, are they brilliant or are they dull?

Second, when I first saw this topic on the home page, I thought it was Richard (Orabanda) following-up on his
"Sore Bum" topic.

Richard L.

[rocket man]

i would go for stainless i think they look the best fit and forget ive replaced most of my bikes bolts and nuts
i dont like dull finish as for black yuck if thats what you like go for it its your bike



dave

[BSA_54A10]

1) Stainless steel is not rustless steel
2) Cd or Zn plating will protect the nut steel by sacrifically disolving
3) Parkerizing, annodizing, nickel &/or chrome plating will not protect the fasteners and you must WAX, that was WAX them to prevent moisture corroding them.

[bsa-bill]

Stainless steel is not rustless steel

The stuff I buy is and the nuts,bolts and studs and plate used buy the farms fertilizers spreaders certainly is.
OTOH I have stainless steel bowls bought from a shop that charges no more than a pound for everything they sell (that's a clue) and sure enough there are a few rust spots on them, that is more a sign that they are NOT stainless steel or very very poor quality such that the metal they are made from should never ever be used for nuts and bolts.
I doubt reasonable grade stainless steel will rust.

All the best - Bill

[MG]

Always be careful with stainless bolts and nuts when used for critical or dynamically loaded screw joints!
Usually the mechanical characteristics (tensile strength, elastic limit, braking elongation) are worse than with a grade 5.6 bolt.
So usually there is no direct stainless replacement for a high-strength bolt.
And the fact that most suppliers won't be able to tell you anything about the steel grade used for their stainless fasteners doesn't help either.

[Brian]

I use a lot of stainless and have for some years now. The advantage is if you have a lathe you can make all your own nuts and bolts, screw etc and they dont have to be plated. You can buy hex bar in the correct BS sizes.

There are quite a few grades of stainless but as a general rule you are only likely to come across two of them, 304 and 316. 304 is the most commonly used one for nuts and bolts, if you go into a shop and ask for a stainless bolt most likely it will be 304. 316 is quite often refered to as "marine grade". 316 has molybdenum added to it to increase its resistance to corrosion in harsh environments ie. the ocean or extreme weather conditions. The molybdenum also makes it much harder and gives it a higher tensile strength, its very hard to strip a bolt made of 316. The downside is its hard to work with and blunts taps and dies etc very quickly.

Another problem with stainless is galling, or "picking up" of the threads. Sometimes if you screw a nut onto a bolt you simply can not get it off again.

As I said I use it a lot, most of my bikes are entirely held together with stainless bolts. I have made axles and just about everything out of it and have not had a failure yet. I use 316 even though it is harder to work with, it is strong and does not rust.

[muskrat]

Brian took the words right out of my mouth. I only use 316 and always use never-seez on the threads. You can grit blast to look old or polish to look better than chrome.
Cheers

[bsa-bill]

Quite agree re the galling, always put some lube on them.
I once bought "special" stuff from Halfords when I re-spoked the wheels with stainless spokes, big mistake it did not seize but by the time I got around to trueing up it had set like cement, had to wire brush it off then lubed with ordinary grease and all went well.
I should explain that I often take a long time between starting a job and finishing

All the best - Bill

[olev]

parkerizing sounds like the go.
I'll get the wifes permission and if my nuts rust, I'll just have to wax.
wish me luck.

[rocket man]

olev i wouldn't get your nuts waxed it sounds painful