[stick]

Ok guys, I've managed to find a shade of gold paint that looks very close to the colour of cadmium/hexavalent chromium plated bolts when they are brand new. As many of you know, most of the bolts in our CRX's were originally cadmium/hexavalent chromium plated. (Side note: Cadmium and Hexavalent Chromium are extremely toxic, and Honda has abolished use of Cadmium in new products as of 2005, and cut it's use of Hexavalent Chromium by 50%.)

What do you guys think? Would it be a nice touch to make all of those old bolts look like new in my restoration project? If you need some pics of some sample bolts, I should have some by tomorrow for you to look at.

 

[toxiclows]

there is a local shop in town that does electroplating..... I know that they do nickle... not sure what else.... i know they do alot of plating for different stuff..... heck the guy that is buying my white crx off of me this sat. works there running one of the plating lines..... i dont know about him though....... i can ask him..... if I cant get an answer from them... If you want send me a sample or one of the bolts that is still good.... I would be more than willing to run it up to them and see what they can do for you..... . It would look cool to have all the bolts nice and shiny.... I would imaging that you would have to media blast them first since they mostly deal in new parts and not rusty items..... But if you like the price... I can set it up for you and you can send them to them.... or to me and i can mail them all back to you if you want....

might try look them up on google.... .
BFG electroplating in Punxsutawney pa

let me know

Chris

 

[SETI20]

Paint will chip. I know...I tried it.
Obviously at some time, some bolts will need to come off. And you won't be able to match them again.

I'd have them plated. Will last alot longer.

 

[Stachi]

I'm getting most of my stuff zinc plated. looks nice and prevents rust.
And for me, it's pretty cheap.

Regards,

Marc

 

[stick]

I'll probably paint them for now...and if it starts to look like crap, i'll see what I can do about getting them plated, or replacing them with shiny new bolts later.

 

[rex2nr]

I was thinking of doing this with mine too. I've read that if you use an enamel, mount them head up in a piece of cardboard, shoot them, and bake them in the oven, not sure thte details, but baking the paint makes it more durable. I remember reading that in an old Hot Rod or Super Chevy magazine a while back; they had done it on a car they were restoring.

 

[stick]

Good tips. I'll try giving them a little bake in the oven to harden them a bit. I think at this point, anything is going to look better than how rusty they used to look.

 

[djhankb]

is powdercoating an option? that stuff is durable as all getout!

 

[toxiclows]

yeah powdercoating would be a good option.... I am sure everyone does that now a days but I have a friend who does that as welll if that will help you out i can get it done for you..

The oven baking works.... We did it years ago when we were young and poor.... ( now we are old and poor) with some junk yard wagon wheels for a friends truck.... we had them sand blasted and then just spray painted them.... baked them in the oven for a while and they came out hotter than heck and hard as a rock... nice cheap durable finish.... just dont forget to remove the cardboard that you pain them on before going into the oven....

 

[stick]

Ok guys, here's an image of how the first few bolts turned out. Unfortunately, the finish I'm using turns out to be a lacquer finish, so I'm not sure if I can bake it in the oven or not. Anyone know anything about lacquers?

 

[stick]

Ok...so I went ahead and baked these 5 bolts for 30 mins at 300 degrees in my oven. I figured I might as well give it a try. It actually did make a big difference. The finish is a lot harder, and the colour deepened a little bit. The bolts are now a sexy gold colour slightly darker than in the last picture I posted.

Thanks for the tips guys!

 

[djhankb]

oh that looks sweet, just like factory!!

 

[stick]

And the great thing is this: the paint is right off the shelf. Rustoleum Gold Metallic finish. I used a dark primer first, so that may also affect the final colouration of the bolts. I'm pretty happy with the results.

I'll let you guys know how they hold up. I want to let them cure for a few days before putting a wrench to them.

 

[rex2nr]

wow, those do look pretty nice.