Cleaning up fasteners, nuts and bolts

[adi1974]

Hi. Most of my engine nuts and bolts seem in pretty good condition but have dirty rusty heads and nuts. Would it be a mistake to clean them up on my bench grinder with a wire brush wheel / abrasive pad or would that be okay? I was just wondering about their protective coatings.

Cheers

 

[SteveH]

No - I've done that for quite some time w/o any issues. I'd them give the heads a quick shot of clearcoat to keep the finish.

 

[gggGary]

You can wire wheel but the rust comes back even faster. If you can use a buffing wheel with compound or a brass brush they take off less of the zinc or cadmium plating. clear coat and wax slow down the rust.

 

[Paulrxs650]

+1 for the buffing wheel. If its bad use the wire wheel but finish with a buff

 

[adi1974]

Thanks guys, sounds promising. I wonder if acf50 would do the job of the clear coat?