Corroded bolts (yes, another one!)

[h0wz3r]

Before you all start pointing me to the search function, I've already had a good rifle through but can't find a definitive answer on this.

I know I can replace a lot of the standard bolts with stainless ones such as those in Steptoe's stainless bolt kit, however, what can be done about the more critical bolts such as those for the suspension and wheel bolts?

My bike isn't too bad at all save for the odd bolt that's showing signs of corrosion but I noticed that the worst ones were the retaining / tensioning bolts for the spokes around the centre of the rear wheel. The main wheel bolts look fine to me but the spoke bolts are a little unsightly.

There are also a couple of large bolts that appear to hold the sub-frame to the engine that have seen better days but these look like stress bearing parts too and wouldn't have thought they could be replaced by stainless.

As these bolts can't be replaced due to the fact that stainless isn't as strong as the original ones, what can I do to them in situ to make them look good again?

 

[Slowdown]

I put a wire brush on the end of an electric drill and polish them up. Then a coat of silver hammerite, let it dry fully then plenty of grease when re-fitting them.

 

[andyclift]

ACF50 before they corrode is good but +1 for Hammerite. Looks OK from about 4 feet away and a quick touch up every spring keeps the bike looking good. I don't bother to wire brush as the Hammerite smooths out anyway and has an anti-rust formula.

 

[h0wz3r]

Took some pics today seeing as I'm stuck at home again because of the snow. Excuse the quality as I took them on my iPhone but it will give you some idea of the state of these bolts:

If it looks a bit wet in places it's because I've just given it a liberal spray of FS365, hence the green looking droplets!

As far as removing the bolts are concerned, the spoke bolts concern me most as these need to be torqued up to the correct level (4Nm if I remember correctly?) Also the bigger bolts look important, wouldn't want to be removing them without knowing what I'm doing.

Any further thoughts?

 

[Rong]

Haynes manual, torque wrench and a couple of hours spare time?

 

[Sgt Bilco]

They may look a little unsigihtly but I don't think they have any effect on the intergrity of the bolt!

Whip them out, wire brush and hammerite should do the job

 

[h0wz3r]

They may look a little unsigihtly but I don't think they have any effect on the intergrity of the bolt!

Whip them out, wire brush and hammerite should do the job

It's the 'whipping them out' that troubles me. Don't know if you can tell from the pictures but is it really just a case of taking the bolt out, cleaning it up re-inserting it and torquing it up to the right value?

The spoke bolts I will need another torque wrench for as mine only goes from 7 - 112Nm which is too much for them.