BigTartanJudge 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Hey all, I have a set of split-rims that I have taken apart and the bolts are all intact and in good physical condition but I want to get them chromed. I have a friend with a chroming machine but was wondering which would be the best way of cleaning / prepping the bolts prior to sending them for chroming ? Any suggestions welcome, Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTartanJudge 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Anyone ? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Henny 0 Posted September 27, 2005 To be brutally honest, in my experience people with chroming machines know how to sort out/prep the stuff they're chroming, so if they don't know what they're doing, take 'em elsewhere... :| Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Geo 0 Posted September 27, 2005 I have bead blasted split rim bolts before to clean them off and it did a brilliant job. But they weren't getting chromed so I don't know if it would be a suitable surface for chroming, you might need something a little rougher to give the chrome a bit of a key to stick to the metal. As henny says, the chroming guy should know what's best, and I'd be worried if he didn't! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yandards 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Personally I wouldn't even consider refitting split rims bolts once they have been used. IIRC they are a type of stretch bolt, there are a few articles kicking around o the net about DIY split refurbs and a few horror stories too. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTartanJudge 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Just spoken to Fat Wheels and split-rim bolts are NOT stretch bolts at all, all they require is to be torqued up to the correct nm when refitting. If they were stretch bolts then fair enough, obviously I wouldn't re-use them (like head bolts etc.). But I don't think people would justify spending £100-£150 per time (roughly £1 per bolt) for 120-160 bolts every single time they refurbished their split-rims to replace bolts, otherwise there would be a shortage of bolts and manufacturers would be loving it ! Anyways, Fat Wheels recommended using an acid-bath (hmmmn, maybe I can knock one up and get hold of some acid from work....) of some sort to strip away old corrosion etc. and they said there was no problem reusing bolts. Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BigTartanJudge 0 Posted September 27, 2005 Managed to knock-up a DIY acid bath which appears to be working, so this thread can be locked , Cheers Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
