Thursday, October 17, 2013

DIY Rust Coating

Ok, so previously I mentioned some rusty parts that were not rusty before I did something idiotic. For some reason, I thought having nice clean & shiny case bolts was important so I tried a DIY zinc coating process much like this one.


You can google how to do it so to make a long story short, my first attempt was a complete failure. There was a reaction taking place on the bolts, but when I removed them they looked like crap. Maybe I hadn't cleaned them enough? I gave it a few days and was about to try again when my stomach tied up in knots. Every piece of steel around my workbench was covered with surface rust (the whole transmission sitting in the crankcase, other engine parts, tools, you name it). I literally couldn't see straight. Everything looked ruined.
 
After regaining my senses, I started to wipe everything down with motor oil over and over again. Most of the surface rust came off. Apparently one of the gases from the chemical bath reacted with the steel causing a flash rust. If you do this, do it far away and in a well ventilated area.
 
More more zinc plating for me!

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