Fastener Re-Plating

[Colin Byrne]

I know there was a post a while ago about this, but just wondering how others have gone getting older fasteners re-plated? 
I always try and use new fasteners on the car where I can due to frequency of dismantling/assembly that I appear to carry out! But there are many non standard bolts, mostly suspension related, where it's not possible to get new.  I'd prefer a black finish but a standard zinc coating would be OK as well
Any leads?

[cjheath]

I had some parts case hardened some years back (I think at Ace Metals?) and the same folk do blackening. But if you search for "metal blackening" and "metal bluing" you get quite a few suppliers in Melbourne. You might contemplate "fume bluing" yourself, but beware alerting spooks when buying strong nitric acid . Both processes produce magnetite (black rust) rather than red rust, and need oiling to consolidate the protection.

The cost of the process isn't high but will be dominated by the cleaning and surface prep needed; just the amount of handling of individual parts.

[Evan Bottcher]

I got a big pile of stuff for our GTV done back in 2011 by Electromech in South Dandenong.  They did black zinc finish on the black stuff and it came up really well.  They were happy to do a large volume with a mixture of wiring and just tumbling, and the price was reasonable.

http://alfa.bottch.com/2011/05/1750-gtv-may-2011-2/

If I need to do some small batches now I'll probably go to Coburg Plating, I've heard good results and it's just around the corner.

[Colin Byrne]

thanks guys
Even that stuff you got done did come up really well, but also like the idea of being able to do it at home
looks like you can get a kit of chemicals for $100, could be interesting....

[cjheath]

Don't get the room-temperature copper/selenium blackening stuff. It's inferior, with inconsistent colouring and is impermanent (comes off in your hand).