• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

Pros and cons to using Brass Hardware?

  • Thread starter Thread starter DrImodium
  • Start date Start date
D

DrImodium

Guest
Im about to start my winter tear down on my GS1000 cafe project. Im going with a Black, silver, and gold paint scheme and was looking at all of the rusty/nasty bolts that are currently on the bike. I know I can buy SS allen heads but I was thinking about trying to locate Brass/brass plated bolts to replace the existing ones and polish them all up. Are there any cons to using brass? Which bolts cant be brass due to strength, etc?

Plating: I was looking at the caswel plating kit since I have some other parts that I want to nickle plate as well. I know they sell a brass kit and Im sure its just a matter of solution but, what kind of durrability can I expect out of plated bolts? Is this going to be a maintenance item, pulling them all off and re-polishing them?

Source: Does anyone have a source where I can buy brass bolts?
 
There are a lot of cons to using brass fasteners on a bike which is not a display only custom...
It's very soft - strips readily - I'd only use brass fasteners for holding on soft components eg plastic panels.
It tarnishes quickly - Ga has a seacoast if I remember my US geography and salt air is no good for a polished finish.
Supply - yachts and small boats use a lot of brass fasteners but if you're looking for metric I suspect it'll be a long search.

Coloured anodised aluminium fasteners are a better way to go IMO
 
GregT said:
There are a lot of cons to using brass fasteners on a bike which is not a display only custom...
It's very soft - strips readily - I'd only use brass fasteners for holding on soft components eg plastic panels.
It tarnishes quickly - Ga has a seacoast if I remember my US geography and salt air is no good for a polished finish.
Supply - yachts and small boats use a lot of brass fasteners but if you're looking for metric I suspect it'll be a long search.

Coloured anodised aluminium fasteners are a better way to go IMO
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use aluminum fasteners either. Not strong enough for structural support, plus expensive.
 
I have used the Caswel plating kits before, (did some gold plating on gun parts). It held up well, but you have to polish the part prior to plating and it has to be 100% clean or the plating will not stick. Also, I would use some sort of sealant over the plating to protect from tarnishing. It would be a very time consuming job to plate each bolt with the wand like the kits have. So, I'd suggest rigging up a small tank and dip them. I ended up getting a universal ac/dc converter with selectable voltage and polarity from Radio Shack.
 
Nessism said:
I wouldn't use aluminum fasteners either. Not strong enough for structural support, plus expensive.
Click to expand...

There are a number of kits on the market with alloy fasteners for retaining fairings - and kits for sidecover screws too. But yes structural use is really a no-no.
Some of the kits say 7075T6 - maybe they are but sidecovers are about as structural as I'd get for a road bike.

Plating is definitely a possibility but polishing prior to plating would be very time consuming.
 
What about the goldish colored bolts they sell at the hardware store? I think they're zinc plated, polished up they'd probably look pretty good and they're durable since they're plated steel. And they're readily available in a lot of differnt sizes. I'm not sure if there'd be any cons to using these, maybe some other guys could chime in.
 
As long as they are the same grade bolt as the original it shouldn't matter.
 
You could pop your bolts through some cardboard and paint the heads with some KG gunkote in gold or copper.
 
Flatline_Racing said:
You could pop your bolts through some cardboard and paint the heads with some KG gunkote in gold or copper.
Click to expand...

That's probably the best solution, but I'm guessing paint is not what you're looking for

You could gold anodise, but that would be spendy

Maybe get some bolts of a Midnight Special - didn't they use gold fasteners?
 
Do Little said:
What about the goldish colored bolts they sell at the hardware store? I think they're zinc plated, polished up they'd probably look pretty good and they're durable since they're plated steel. And they're readily available in a lot of differnt sizes. I'm not sure if there'd be any cons to using these, maybe some other guys could chime in.
Click to expand...

These are zinc plated steel with a yellow passivate in the solution. The yellow passivate gives them a much better corrosion protection than BZP (bright zinc plate which is the silver with the blueish tint) so they are a good option if the look is right... You can't really polish them though, the plating will be thin, you'll polish through it I would think.

Caswell do a yellow passivate.... getting a good finish takes some work though. Nessism has one of those kits. Do a search for a thread on some bolts he has plated.
 
Brass will corrode before steel. I'm too lazy right now to check the tables, but it also might corrode before aluminum does.

Fasteners should be made to fasten properly. Put your farkles somewhere that doesn't matter.
 
black fasterners on MNS

black fasterners on MNS

Hi,
I have an MNS, and most of the fasteners are black, some gray. I believe all of my fasteners are also stock for that bike, so mns fasteners wont help much. I personally have removed some of my mns fasteners , since they do rust a bit, and use SS, and use black spray paint on the heads of them. My B12 uses polished SS fasteners with a black painted engine, and it looks great.



Big T said:
That's probably the best solution, but I'm guessing paint is not what you're looking for

You could gold anodise, but that would be spendy

Maybe get some bolts of a Midnight Special - didn't they use gold fasteners?
Click to expand...
 
Brass corrodes before steel? I have to question the reasoning behind this. the British, US, French, Dutch navies and many merchant marines fleets have been using brass bolts, hardware on most exterior, interior doors, gunnery parts, for over a century.. Many of the older deck guns used brass for their breech locks due to their resistance tos alt and corrosioin. Not to mention, porthole hardware, even clocks, binoculars, compasses. Depending on the alloy mixture brass can be very stong and would use it WAAY before any sort of average aluminum bolt. even though there are over 1700 grades of aluminum from very soft to VERY hard. The key word above was average..Brass is alloy mix of copper and steel, it will NOT react badly with steel and will NOT react badly with copper. It has the corrosion resistance of copper and somewhat the strength of steel and has been used in the boiler, plumbing industry as a standard for well over a hundred years. I have seen toilet flush valves, biller drain well over 50 yrs old still function being made of brass. Any bolier tech, plumber will tell you this as well as pipe fitter, ship fitter or naval hull tech will tell you. I have personally seen steel pipe less than 20yrs old fall apart from corrosion. I can't say the same for brass, yes it does corrode, but a LOT more slowly. Go to any pluming shop and ask for a steel valve , they will laugh at you. All quality valves are made of brass.. You tell me why.. I would not hesitate tyo use brass for a fastener in a non structural critical area on any car or bike. By the way i am a master, pipe fitter and master plumber with a journeyman in boiler operation over 28 yrs in the trades. .
 
Last edited:
atb1998 said:
Brass corrodes before steel? I have to question the reasoning behind this. the British, US, French, Dutch navies and many merchant marines fleets have been using brass bolts, hardware on most exterior, interior doors, gunnery parts, for over a century.. Many of the older deck guns used brass for their breech locks due to their resistance tos alt and corrosioin. Not to mention, porthole hardware, even clocks, binoculars, compasses. Depending on the alloy mixture brass can be very stong and would use it WAAY before any sort of average aluminum bolt. even though there are over 1700 grades of aluminum from very soft to VERY hard. The key word above was average..Brass is alloy mix of copper and steel, it will NOT react badly with steel and will NOT react badly with copper. It has the corrosion resistance of copper and somewhat the strength of steel and has been used in the boiler, plumbing industry as a standard for well over a hundred years. I have seen toilet flush valves, biller drain well over 50 yrs old still function being made of brass. Any bolier tech, plumber will tell you this as well as pipe fitter, ship fitter or naval hull tech will tell you. I have personally seen steel pipe less than 20yrs old fall apart from corrosion. I can't say the same for brass, yes it does corrode, but a LOT more slowly. Go to any pluming shop and ask for a steel valve , they will laugh at you. All quality valves are made of brass.. You tell me why.. I would not hesitate tyo use brass for a fastener in a non structural critical area on any car or bike. By the way i am a master, pipe fitter and master plumber with a journeyman in boiler operation over 28 yrs in the trades. .
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information! I guess that I've seen enough surface corrosion on brass faucets to be wary. But I don't know the composition of those faucets.

I've used brass fasteners for carpentry, and have found them to be terribly weak and soft. Where does one get good brass fasteners?

A link about brass corrosion: http://www.hghouston.com/coppers/brass78.htm#Galvanic corrosion
 
Last edited:
..Like i stated above steel, aluminum or any other metals, brass comes in various hardness. Plumbing grade brass and marine grade brass are for function.. Big difference between carpentry grade which usually is pure decorative or at the most may be used for door hinges. Brass will tarnish quickly, but not corrode. there is a difference. Steel will quickly rust, but takes a bit longer to pit. I never said brass wouldn't TARNISH, their is a difference between tarnish and corrosin. One can get good marine grade fasteners through marine suppliers or a faucet, boiler, pump parts suppliers. Saturday i rebuilt a 60 year old PricePfister tub/ shower faucet built into a customers bathroom wall. Solid brass body, solid brass removable seats and stems. It all came apart fairly easily. put new brass seats back in it. Rebuilt the brass stems. No problems at all with bolts stripping, seats were pitted, but the man said it hadn't been wrked on since th 80's.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top