colored bolts?

help , does anyone know a good source where i can order colored bolts 9/16? powder coated, painted, what ever, i cant find any anywhere. thanks,
rob

 

Why can't you paint them yourself ?

 

i could but the guy im building the truck for wants pre colored bolts, he thinks they will hold up beter then if i painted them. the guys real weird.

 

I've never seen pre-colored bolts. If he's that concerned, have them powdercoated first and then paint the car to match .

By the way, this might solve this problem. One of the tool companies, it might be Eastwood, sells socket/wrench inserts that fit the next size up tool. If you need a 1/2" wrench, the 1/2" insert fits into the 5/8" wrench. The insert is made of plastic so that it doesn't mar the painted surface of the bolt. Don't know how well they work, and I'm not sure how well they'd hold up in cases where a torque wrench is required.

 

I've painted them myself heaps of times...

Stick the bolts through the top of a cardboard box after you've given them a good clean with thinners and a grind if you want the tops of them nice and smooth. Push them through, the cardboard should then be tight enough to keep overspray off the threads. Buy enough for the job plus some extras so you've got spares in case of overspray binding threads or if you wipe out the paint on a few with the shifter.

Then just spray bomb them with a rattle can, easy. I guess if you want a tough finish you could get some 2 pack or use engine enamel or hammer finish. Those sockets with the plastic liner sound like a great idea, but if you scratch the paint off home-done ones you can just re-spray them.

Cheers, Glen.

 

thanks everyone, i'll try to show him the plastic inserts and talk him into going that way. thanks again!
rob

 

Why????????

 

Take them to a powder coating shop and have the heads powdered.

I plugged a bunch of threaded holes in the parts I had powdered with bolts so as to keep the threads clean - not realizing the shop has plugs for that.

The bolt heads got powdered and they're tough enough that they resist wrench damage quite well.

Allen bolts were also done.
Nice part is the powder doesn't get down into the wrenching area of an Allen bolt very far.
These resist wrench damage as well.

Allen sizes done were 10-24 and 10-32 up to 1/2-13.

Regular bolts were 1/4" - 3/8".

 

What about anodized bolt caps? Doesn't Summit sell them for show cars and stuff like that?

 

Try these guys. I use them at work to plate bolts. They are a plater, not a painter.
http://www.riecoatings.com/

 

Is "colored" politically
correct for hardware these days?

 

Buy a Small used toaster oven -- maybe $ 5.00

Buy HF powder coat on sale -- maybe $ 50.00

Get powder from a legitimate company. They will color match. $$

Charge $ 4.00 to 5.00 per bolt. Should at least break even.

You Will find lot of other uses for powder coat and the process will make you some good money.

DFE

 

I personally would paint the bolts AFTER installing them with 1-Shot.....cause you WILL mark 'em up when torquing 'em down....even if powder coated.....and I've seen powdercoat 'pop off' in big flakes on bolts....

 

hey everyone thanks for all the replies!! i think i'll go the powder coating route. i forgot i bought a cheap powder coating gun kit about 5 yrs ago and never have used it (could never find a cheap deal on an oven and couldent convence the wife to let me use the
kitchen ) i never thought of a toaster oven befor. i'll try that! i really wasent sure it would work all that great any way, ive never used one. just got a good deal on it and figured someday i would try it that's why i bought it. i guess nows a good time to try it out.

anyone have any tips on useing one of those powder coating guns?
thanks, rob

 

i wish i could paint them on the truck but this weirdo wants them different colors

 

I think you will have fun doing it your self.

You can get a used electric oven in the alley. Found my last two that way.

Parts must be as clean as you would normally to spray paint.

Air pressure is like 4-6 psi.

I use an old oven rack laid on two saw horses. I put the bolts in Swanson or some other aluminum pan.

I poke holes in the pans and push the bolts in. If you need then to stick up a little, I use masking tape on the bottom to determine the height. Wire brush taks burnt making tape off.

Pre-heat oven to 350 to 400 degrees per the powder instructions.

I use need nose pliers or bent nose pliers to put and remove the aluminum pan.

I bought an IR thermometer. Best addition I made to the process. HF has them for about $ 40.00 Works well. Check the bolts by shooting the IR beam at them. When temp. of 350 to 400 degrees is reached, set the timer for 15 minutes.

Remember to use the pliers to remove the aluminum pans.

Let cool to room temperature and you are ready to go.

Also nice for small brakets. I used the big oven for suspension parts and even rims.

If I can do it, it should be a walk in the park for you.

Please post progress pictures.

DFE