Was looking into trying the Palmetto manganese phosphate for hardware. Just wondering what method anyone has used as far as blasting the bolts, etc. I've seen the basket that Eastwood sells, but I find it hard to justify that for their price.

Appreciate any ideas/suggestions
dave

dave,

i made my own backet from expanded metal and welded a square box. it was cheap because i had left over metal form another project.

angel

ps, i blasted all my bolts and used a kit from eastwood. there is a sealer that comes with it but some bolts still showed a little rust after a while.

How about a cool whip container with holes punched in the bottom and a X slot cut in the top? Stick the nozzel through the slot and shake and blast. Nuts, bolts, and washers all stay inside and it will save the fingers on your gloves.

Mike

I always use a wire wheel on a bench grinder on my hardware, and hold them with pliers, vice grips on small stuff. It doesn't etch the surface like blasting does.
Ed

My experience with plastic containers in a blast cabinet has been a bunch of static electricty that shocks the crap out of you. Alot of the time I poke holes in a cardboard box and stick the bolts through them. Box wears out but it works. I also have a metal tray with holes but I still have to get around to making a lid for it.

couldn't you use a parts tumbler, put them in the tumbler, walk away when you come back all nice and clean, ready for paint. I haven't done this, so I don't know, just guessing.

I have a tumbler (from Eastwood), but I'm definately not too impressed with it. For one, it takes forever. Better part of a day to get them really clean (clean enough to try to plate), and secondly, you can only do a small amount at a time. You can put more in, but then they start getting mixed up. Really loud too.

I think that blasting them then a quick shot on the wire wheel is the best prep.

dave

I have phosphated parts cleaned on a wire wheel, and parts that were blasted. Blasted definately worked better. Follow Vernon's instructions to the T, and you will be happy with the results.

Im guessing that Vernon is someone with Palmetto?

dave

I was real pleased to find this thread. I'm a BIG fan of using MANGANESE Phosphating for the restoration of "charcoal/DARK Gray" factory bolts.
I also bought Palmetto Ent chemicals, both the Manganese and the Zinc Phosphate.
I clean my bolts using recycled glass media. I have a 12" long piece of Wood 2x4 drilled with misc holes. I screw MANY different bolts, screws into the wood and blast everything at one time. I then remove the bolts from wood and blast the other ends individually, but that goes fast. I then wire wheel the head only, just to smooth out the blasted surface from the glass beading.
I bought a used Stainless Steel LARGE pot at a thrift store to heat the chemical solution in.
To make dipping and removing fasteners easy . I use a stainless steel colander I picked up at a commercial restaurant supply.
Following all the Palmetto directions, the actual plating only takes seconds to do a "batch" at a time. I also lift & aggitate the collander to shake the parts around.
When I'm done with the plating I then submerge the fasteners in a home made solution of kerosene and motor oil.......After drying off on shop towels I then finish coat with BoeShield T-9(developed by Boeing Aircraft) which is arguably the best rust inhibitor you can buy...............
regards to all, Chuck Sharin

CamaroRus: actually, I was interested in doing this after reading several threads that you had commented on here and other forums.

Is it necessary to dip them in the kerosene/oil mix before the boeshield? And also, I read on the boeshield site that it will protect them for months. Does this mean that it will wear off and they will need to be recoated periodically?

thanks
dave

Dave and others, I have a lot of experience doing the MANGANESE Phosphate (bought from ma named Vernon at Palmetto). I have only media blasted in my cabinet with FINE recycled glass. They come out good and I like the coloring......BUT wondering if anybody with ACTUAL EXPEREINCE has wire wheeled (describe wheel please) after bead blasting to remove the "profile" from metal and get a smoother shinier result.......or am I just being TOO picky (aka ANAL)

Dave, I forgot to answer you about BoeShield....I was going into bucket of kerosene/oil OR Colman Camp fuel (Walmart) after phosphating because it was cheaper than BoeShield. I only use the BoeShield after Ive left previously oiled parts to lay dry on shop towel. I would definitely agree that BoeShield or any rust inhibitor would have to be perodically recoated........BUT from many sources Ive read, including a Yachting Magazine salt water immersion test the BoeSheild was superior to other want to be products.......

I had asked vernon about hitting them with a wire wheel after blasting, to smooth them off. He recommended against that, saying the rough profile from the blasting would help it adhere better.

Havent tried it myself though. Next time I do some plating, I'll give it a try.

dave

I made up a basket about 10" round out of hardware cloth, its a wire mesh that comes in different sizes from 1/4" to 1/2'" squares, and is stiff to hold it's shape. The blasting media I use that works well and isn't to abrasive or destructive to the bolts is the " dust" that is collected in the vacuum hooked to the cabinet. Just use this fine dust to do the blasting, takes a little longer, but worth it.

We are cleaning tons of hardware at work using a blaster that uses baking soda. The stuff cleans like you would not believe (very good) and cleans up (off the fasteners) with a spray of isopropyl alcohol with the fasteners sitting on a rag. Dry them off and they are ready to coat. We coat them with lok-tite primers for aerospace use and they have to be cleaned. This method has been tested and major bucks spent to make sure all impurities are removed from the fasteners before we can re-use them.

The machine is basic blast cabinet with a vacuum and high pressure (well it’s low but about 100PSI is what it sees) and the media is used only once and pulled out by the vacuum. The media is pretty cheap but the cabinet is expensive. After seeing this one I don’t think one would be that hard to build, but the soda hopper would have to be able to have about 100 PSI on it.

I know sorta off topic but you might want to check into this method and see if it’s available in your area if you need parts cleaned. This thing can even clean paint off plastic!!

Plated a batch today. Experimented with the blasted, then wire wheeled method on a bolt. Was noticeably lighter in color to the others. Maybe it didnt bond as well? The sheen of it wasnt significantly different. Cant say for sure, because different metals on different hardware come out differently. Ive plated nuts with captive washers that the nut and washer plated differently. Today, the bolts with the anchor marking on the bolt head all came out lighter than the others. Not bad at all, but different nonetheless.

Ive done a considerable amount with the Palmetto system, and Ive come across some consistency issues. I do it the same way each time, but at times the result is less than desireable, so to say. But when it comes out right, its really good stuff.

dave