Nut and Bolt Finish

[GrumpyTwo]

Hi There, A smarter person than I will be able to answer this question.

I'm currently bringing a 2006 1200GS back to its former glory, and would like to use the original bolts, which are in typical BMW fashion rusted. Does anyone know what the original dull grey finish is, I'm guessing Zinc, but I'm probably wrong.
Thanks for your help.

 

[ChasF]

They will be zinc plated although they would have had a brighter finish originally. It’s easy enough to do your own zinc plating using a kit or otherwise.

 

[Pukmeister]

The bolts are not that expensive to buy from BMW, just a couple of quid each or less. I bought loads when I owned a Hexhead to replace the ones that had gone rusty inside the Torx holes and tidy it up eg Frame bolts, brake caliper mounting bolts etc.

Parts numbers are available online through digitised microfiche such as the MaxBMW website etc.

 

[GrumpyTwo]

They will be zinc plated although they would have had a brighter finish originally. It’s easy enough to do your own zinc plating using a kit or otherwise.

That was why I asked, I don't want to Nickel plate them if they are Zinc plated, so thanks for that.

 

[GrumpyTwo]

The bolts are not that expensive to buy from BMW, just a couple of quid each or less. I bought loads when I owned a Hexhead to replace the ones that had gone rusty inside the Torx holes and tidy it up eg Frame bolts, brake caliper mounting bolts etc.

Parts numbers are available online through digitised microfiche such as the MaxBMW website etc.

As I said in my original post, I want to use the original fasteners, but thanks anyway.

 

[GT3North]

The original finish on these fasteners is a process called Zinc Flake Coating. A non-electrolytically applied coating which consists of a mixture of zinc and aluminum flakes, which are bonded together by an inorganic matrix.

Dörken make a spray finish to re apply.
https://www.doerken.com/us/en/produ...protection/special-solutions/zinc-flake-spray

 

[GrumpyTwo]

The original finish on these fasteners is a process called Zinc Flake Coating. A non-electrolytically applied coating which consists of a mixture of zinc and aluminum flakes, which are bonded together by an inorganic matrix.

Dörken make a spray finish to re apply.
https://www.doerken.com/us/en/produ...protection/special-solutions/zinc-flake-spray

Thanks for that. What an interesting process, but it looks like they don't retail their product to the public, there are a few others, mostly from Germany at around £11 and a delivery charge of £25. I'll keep trying to find one, but they might be getting zinc plated anyway.