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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Protection for bolts/fastenings

Chaps

I like to polish up the heads of any particularly rusty carbon steel bolts/fastenings on show - especially on the old bikes. Generally I use a polycarb wheel on a drill. This works fine in removing all surface corrosion and leaves a bright finish. However, on a few occasions, it does revert to a rusty state pretty quickly. Any advice as to a protective coating perhaps? I thought of a brief spray of matt lacquer?

Oggers

Lacquer is what I was thinking too.
Or replace the bolts with stainless (where safety isn't compromised)?
Jeremy MkIII

I bought a product called Everbrite some while back for coating over my polished window stanchions and cockpit finishing rails. It was expensive but made great claims about effectiveness. Its too soon to say whether it lives up to that, but it should in theory do what you are wanting.

https://www.everbritecoatingsuk.com/coatings-only-1
GuyW

Guy

That looks just the job - many thanks.

I have investigated stainless, but for bikes in particular, they only seem to come with Allen heads which is too far from original for my tastes.
Oggers

If you are tempted to try one of those home plating kits then please report back - I've got some bits of the mentioned elsewhere tractor project to tidy up sometime.
AdrianR

Oggers, tbh in use it doesn't seem much different to a clear lacquer but I guess there is some sort of chemical bonding going on as well. Time will tell.

Any interest yet in your car?
GuyW

Guy

Car sold - 11K. Bit less than wished for but bird in the hand and all that. Nice chap from NE England. I will of course inform him of this very useful and helpful forum. May still be tempted to return to the fold...prices seem ridiculous at present though.
Oggers

That's good. Reasonably quick sale always feels better.
GuyW

If you are not an originality freak stainless metric nuts, bolts washers and other fittings are available from Tool Station or Screwfix and they are cheap.

Jan T
J Targosz

ACF 50 is good for brushing on and is a clear film. Obviously it isn’t permanent but a thinned down spray coating on the whole bike keeps most corrosion at bay. Good for cars as well.

I’ve tried a DIY plating kit with some good results. Only problem is that it takes a lot of setting up so getting everything ready just to do the odd bolt is a bit of a pain. Mine has been sat waiting for me to use again for about 3 years now!!
John Payne

Years ago I spent a lot of time nickel plating fittings using one of those kits that Adrian mentions. Despite very careful cleaning, the plating came off after maybe 3 years. I then found that dipping in battery acid got them a lot cleaner, and the plating lasted longer. But even so, in exposed areas it doesn't last much longer than the original zinc plating. The problem is that the tools used to tighten the fitting cut through the plating, and rust starts in these tiny cracks. Fortunately the most exposed areas on a Spridget are not very visible, so spraying ordinary fittings with Waxoyl or similar keeps the rust at bay. The visible areas are mostly not so structural, so stainless fittings are acceptable. For example the 1/4" screws for the pedal box are all stainless now on my car. Stainless screws don't usually break in my experience, but they can stretch. I have not had this happen to any of them.

The plating kit is great for decorative purposes though. I have restored 4 gear levers and sold 3 of them them on eBay for good money - see photo. The other one is on my car and looks like new after 5 years.

Les



Les Rose

I agree with Les. My other classic originally had all the fasteners zinc plated in a dirty gold colour. When I rebuilt the rear suspension I got them all professionally replaced which was expensive.

However spanners and sockets soon take off the plating. I wouldn’t bother plating fasteners on the midget, just use stainless where you can, and a smear of grease of non stainless fasteners.

Chris Madge

Gents,

Silicon spray is good for keeping exposed stuff looking good. Lacquer chips then flakes then dirt gets under the flakes, as can be seen on the fork stanchions of many motorbikes.

There are various grades of stainless steel, most are just "rust resistant" and will eventually rust unless you use something else, like silicon spray.

I used it on my Harley, which I road through 16 winters. It kept the brightwork bright and the black engine from going grey. I'm not one for washing every Sunday, but when I did wash it I sprayed it and doing that made washing off salt spray and road grime a LOT easier.


Cheers,
NigelB











N Broomfield

This thread was discussed between 04/08/2021 and 08/08/2021

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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