Nut And Bolts Clean Up?? Tool Advice

Hi, What is used to clean up nut/bolts. not expensive tool? or at least not too expensive. I spend a small fortune on buying nuts and bolts, it'd be useful to use the old stuff.

 

A pedestal grinder with a wire wheel installed:



From here:

Search Results For "Pedastal Grinder"

Use vice grips to hold the hardware, to keep your fingers out of the wheel, and a face shield.

 

Well, I have a bench grinder with a wire wheel on it, just thought there was something that might do quite a few nuts n bolts all at once! lol lucky thinkin I guess

 

Maybe an ultra sonic parts cleaner? Sandblasting? Acid bath? Electrolysis?

I suppose it depends what you are 'cleaning' - grease, rust, paint, whatever?

I use the wire wheel for small numbers, when I feel the need for cleaning. Not often.

Hardware has gotten ridiculously pricey by the piece. But if I can afford to wait a day or two, I buy on ebay, and always order extra. Cheaper, and much quicker than a trip to the hardware store.

 

I clean mine up on a bench grinder with a brass brush wire wheel.

I've not experimented with plating but that is also an option.

 

I also use a wire wheel on a buffer/grinder. The big caveat here is what you are using those cleaned up used bolt/nuts for. They need to be near perfect if it is for anything critical that has a torque specification and even then, you do not know how much they have been previously stretched. The bottom line is I use new with known providence for any such applications.

 

I haven't used one personally, but a lot of people seem to like these tumblers for cleaning small parts:

• Eastwood 18 lb Tumbler

 

I've used wire wheels and bead blasting. Muriatic acid/water mix if I'm lazy and they're just rusty. Most of the time I'll just clean the threads with a tap and die.

 

Muratic acid, wire wheel and wire brush are my tools of choice for cleaning fasteners.

 

Had an old Craftsman electric sander mounted a coffee can to it and put in Black Diamond media. Put the plastic lit on it and bolts in it,
Locked the trigger and put it in the vise. I put the bolts in it and let it run. came out clean and ready for paint or use.

Cheap and worked great.


Dave

 

That's it! I knew there was something, a little more than I want to spend, but at least I know it's out there! thank you!

 

I'm sure I saw that episode~ kids today wouldn't know that those cartoons are funny!

 

If you look at reloading sites, you can find tumblers that are not as expensive. Example: Frankford Arsenal Quick-N-EZ Case Tumbler (midwayusa.com)

 

Often I put nuts and bolts into a small Tupperware and cover with mineral spirits. Slosh it around a bit then let dry out on a rag. If heavy grime is present I’ll use the wire wheel on my bench grinder as already mentioned. Vicegrips are good.

 

IMHO first step is to remove the oil/grease., then go after the rust.
Soak in acetone or degreaser or clean in hot dish soap. In my youth I would have used a coffee can full of gasoline; and then killed driveway weeds with the dirty gas. Of course, I would never do that today. Once you have most of the oil removed, the vibratory bowls require low effort from you and can clean parts well. Keep in mind that most of the vibratory bowls can be used with some liquid. Once you have the bowl with fasteners and media (sand or blasting material or ??) vibrating add a LITTLE water and even LESS Dawn Dishwashing Detergent. This will help lift the crud from the surface of the metal. If you use too much water/Dawn you will have a mini- “I Love Lucy” scene with bubbles going everywhere!
The muriatic acid isn't real effective against oil/grease but does remove the rust. Muriatic acid will also remove any zinc plating that may be left. Cleaning with muriatic acid can induce hydrogen embrittlement. It probably will not BUT why chance it with anything critical. Hydrogen embrittlement - Wikipedia

 

I have a tray in my parts washer I dump the hardware on. Let them soak then brush off the grime. Let them dry. For the really heavy stuff, I use the wire brush or a wheel. Or just toss them if they are too bad.

 

i love me some looney toons