Restoring Automotive Fasteners - DIY or Pro? Tips, Tricks, and Amazing Zinc Plating Results!

Hardware is one of the most important parts of a car project, and potentially one of the trickiest things to deal with. What do you do with that rusty pile of nuts, bolts, screws, clips, springs, brackets, and other things – especially if no replacements are readily available? Of course you can always do nothing, and put them back in as-is. But if you're going for a nice restoration and want things to be as good as new, what's the best way to achieve that?

I've been working on my 1973 Opel Manta suspension for a while now, and came to the conclusion (after much research) that my best bet was to send all my fasteners to a professional plating shop to be stripped and re-plated in yellow zinc. The cost was significant, but considering the amount of unique and hard/impossible to replace parts, and the absence of any good D.I.Y. refinishing methods, I felt it was the right choice for me. The results are awesome! It's satisfying to have original fasteners that look brand-new again.

In this video, I'll delve into the challenges and options for cleaning up and restoring your project hardware, tips on keeping track of your fasteners to avoid confusion, tips on buying replacements, and I'll unbox my nice shiny restored hardware for your enjoyment.

CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Intro
1:22 - Keeping Track of Project Hardware
3:52 - What to Replace
5:42 - DIY Restoration Options
8:58 - Pro Zinc Plating Results & Final Thoughts

VIDEOS REFERENCED:
• "Should You Buy A Vibratory Tumbler To Clean Rusty Hardware? Probably Not. But..." by Phillips Home Repair - Should You Buy A Vibratory Tumbler To...
• "Black Oxide Coating Parts For Your Own Projects" by GearBoxVideo - Black Oxide Coating Parts For Your Ow...
• "ZInc Plating Hardware with Caswell Electroplating Copy Cad Zinc Plating Kit" by Compulsive DIY - ZInc Plating Hardware with Caswell El...

I'll be putting the Manta suspension back together soon, so stay tuned! Follow me on IG for random updates and stuff: Instagram: andrewdoescarstuff