While hunting out other items in the box of donor bike parts, I noticed that the top end bolts were looking a bit worse for wear.
They were rusty when removed, and the old top end dismantled. If anything, a few weeks in the box has made them look worse.
A treatment plan was devised.
- A cleanup on a wire brush wheel.
- Soaking and brushing in a paraffin bath.
- Rinsing and degreasing in a bath of brake cleaner.
- An hour in a phosphoric acid bath.
- …followed by an immediate scrubbing with a nylon brush in a bucket of water.
- Drying overnight
- A final polish up on the rotary wire brush.
- Run an 8mm tap down the threads
Hi , had the same sort of run around some years ago . In the finish i did the same but with out power tools and heated the bolts up and quenched them in oil to give them a black look and a bit of protection from rust . Yes i know you can buy new / plus Norbo sells some nice S/S ones but this was not my engine so hay ho .