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The first thing is to make sure the parts have any paint removed and are degreased. For paint removal, I turned to my old-standard - aircraft paint-stripper. Once paint-free, I mixed up a little metal-wash, sprayed my parts down, and wiped them clean. Now it was time for “rust-busting”. The machine has rubber feat on it to keep it from “walking” while working its magic. It’s suggested to place it on the floor, but it can also be used on a bench if you block it from “walking” off the edge. Next, I added the pyramid-shaped green rust cutting media. It’s cut this way to maximize cutting effectiveness. There are many other types of media available for specific uses with stainless, cast iron, pot metal, brass, aluminum, copper, gold, silver, and even plastic. Next I added the parts. It’s best to have a ratio of 70% media to 30% parts. I added a little water, but not so much that there was any standing on the top. You just want the mixture to be moist. Finally I turned it on and let it do its thing for a few hours. I checked it periodically to inspect the work and see the progress. It took about 4 hours to completely clean my parts. Then, with the lid slightly ajar, I drained off the water and dumped my mixture into a cloth on a cookie tray. I thoroughly dried the parts with a hair dryer and let the green media air-dry to re-use it again. I like the idea of being able to get repeated use from the media. Less waste and mess as well as more cost-efficient.
Producing a showroom shine
I wanted my fender bolts to have a shine to them, but not be plated. I was able to do this with the tumbler as well. I added the “DryShine” media and dropped in the bolts. Again, no more than 30% parts to 70% media is recommended. This time no water is needed. Tumbling for 6 hours produced a really nice shine that’s really going to look tidy over the freshly painted fender edges. To protect my fasteners from further corrosion, I coated them with Eastwood’s “Diamond Clear” from an aerosol can. Now when an admirer looks at my fenders, it’ll be evident that the fenders were painted off the car indicating that high-end work was done on the whole vehicle. Hopefully, these extra touches will help bring a little more money when it comes time to sell.
Starting the electroplating process
Electroplating is a great way to go to dress up small parts and protect them from future corrosion. Some of the parts I’m plating didn’t come from the factory that way, but the added detail I feel will complement the details of my restoration as a whole. The key is not overdoing it. Brackets and clamps look great plated, but whole engine compartments chromed out are not my taste. With that in mind, I elected to plate my parts using Eastwood’s electroplating system for small parts. Electroplating is simply using electric current in an electrolyte solution to coat a http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conductivity \o "Electrical conductivity" conductive object (your part) with a thin layer of metal. The Eastwood kit is almost as much fun as your first chemistry set! The kit contains enough material to plate dozens of parts. And the individual compnents of the kit are availablr seperately to replentish them as needed.
If you use the tumbler on a bench top, you should place some heavy items on either side to keep the vibration from causing the unit to “walk” off the edge.
The rust-cutting media uses it’s triangular shape to aid in doing it’s job. The edges are only slightly worn after one 6-hour job. When the media is too worn to work well, it can be replaced.
Right from the tumbler, you can see a vast improvement. A little brushing with a small wire brush will clean up the tight areas where the media couldn’t reach.
