Black socket 4/40 screws - Resto?

[huminski]

Hi all,

Just tore down a 100% complete, but very rusty / dirty original 10T. Not terribly abused, chassis is very lightly scratched and there are zero broken parts.

It was assembled by a shop owner and is complete, every screw, nut and bolt is there.

I have soaked the screws in detergent for a couple days to degrease / clean, and then CLR for a short while to remove the surface rust.

When they were still wet, they looked great, black, and rust free.

Once dried, the screws are all very clean but have a slight brown rust tint to them.

Any way to re-blacken these easily? I know I can get a full aluminum screw set for about $10-15, but if I can restore these originals easily, I have the time.

Thoughts?

[SFC K]

You could try some WD-40 and see if that will get rid of the brown. I have had good luck with soaking rusted screws in WD-40 and cleaning with an old tooth brush.

[knixdad]

The rust will come back unless you fix the black oxide surface. It's usually not worth the effort, however it can be done.

There are black oxidizing kits out there, both hot and cold. Cold is easier but doesn't work as well. Hot works better but is way harder to do.

They are also gun re-bluing kits that can produce ok results as well.

None of these wear like the original factory black oxide but it your are shelving it or not touching the screws often it will be acceptable.

I can't stand rust, it's like a disease. So normally I replace everything with SS, Aluminum or Titanium. If I have a part I can't replace, I'll heat it with a torch and then apply graphite, which blackens and protects as long as it doesn't get rubbed off. But screws are tough, since you have to screw them back in and the driver tips can scuff the coating.

[RC10resto]

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=29093&hilit=heat+and+oil

and it has been discussed that you can heat the part up till it starts to turn red then drop it into a vege oil bath. I have tried this with turnbuckles and it works.

[knixdad]

http://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?f=40&t=29093&hilit=heat+and+oil

and it has been discussed that you can heat the part up till it starts to turn red then drop it into a vege oil bath. I have tried this with turnbuckles and it works.

That does work as well. I use 10W30.

[jwscab]

go to mcmaster carr and order up a bunch of fresh hardware. packs of 50-100 screws in the right lengths are a couple bucks. Or as others said, for pennies more per size, go with 18-8 stainless and never worry about it again.

[huminski]

Thank you all.

So I soaked all the hardware in wd40 for a few hours. Dried them off (did not rinse, just towel dried them) and they look good enough for me. Check my 10-t thread in the truck section for the results, those are the screws....

Thanks all!

[jwscab]

incidentally, if you want to make them have a gray oxide coating, you can soak them in phosphoric acid for a while, it will remove rust and leave a 'black' oxide coating. You can actually use Coca-cola to do it but since its a weak solution it take a few days.

[marlo]

For light surface rust, I soak a paper towel with WD-40, and turn the screw with a driver on the towel... works for me.