OK stove bolts rust; I understand that, (Cheap steel/iron, un-plated...) On the Coleman 530 I'm fettling, it used 4 of these to hold the SS pot stand to the Brass and nickle plated fount. No plating, just ordinary iron stove bolts. (Kinda weird considering the pains they put into the materials everywhere else on this stove. I got them out without damage (I've had years experience with stubborn fasteners) even though I thought I'd break one that was VERY stuck. (They will get anti-seize when I re-assemble...) I cleaned the rust off in a bath of straight Jasco Metal etch (phosphoric Acid to those that don't know) and they are no longer rusty. What I need to know is the groups opinion of what to do with these bare metal stove bolts before I re-assemble. Options include, but are not limited to: Blueing (Cold gun blue) Coat with oil and go. See if I could plate then with maybe nickel, (using a process based on my electrolysis De-rusting setup, in reverse...) Put them in dry and let ?em rust again. (Coleman knew what they were doing here, Right?) Other ideas? What is he consensus? wha twoudl be "Right" for a vintage stove?
replace them with stainless steel...keep the old bolts around if you want or need to show or sell it as original--
for parts that won't get too hot use auto wax. it works welll, doesn't impart an unoriginal look and it's easy. cold blue will work for a while but it's not very permanent in the elements. a cold blue and wax would be even better. electro-plating can sometimes be inconsistent with regards to the where (and how much of) the coating metal lands. for a threaded part this could be a problem. but then again,....if it doesn't work they're easy enough to replace. like dave gibson said,....stainless steel sure would be easy too. Edited to include: As a side note,........auto wax, such as carnuba wax, can sometimes be acidic. try to find a neutral Ph for a long term use.
If you can't find stainless or brass replacements, clean 'em up the best you can then use milk of magnesia as an anti sieze. Get the smalles bottle you can find at the drugstore, shake it up really well, then dab it into the threaded holes with a "Q" tip. My crazy uncle was/is a diesel mechanic and uses milk of magnesia as anti sieze on diesel exhaust manifolds and systems. It might not be a bad idea to put it on stainless or brass bolts as well. I call this "Chicken Souping It" because like chicken soup, even if it vouldn't help, it von't hoit. Gerry
I have used a product called "Coppa-slip" or something like that on automobile disc brake pieces. My old GM truck has the heavy "Bendix" disc brakes and I coat the caliper retainer as it slides side to side somewhat as the pads wear. Its a high temperature product with a copper color; my guess is it contains copper and is a lubricant/anti-seize compound. Never had occasion to try it on stove bolts.
I use crc's copper paste (I guess it's very similar to the coppaslip mentioned above) every time I refit a bolt or nut on my classic Mini. I've never had any problems removing bolts after that. It's supposed to withstand a lot of heat as well. It seems, that even with the oil fraction of the lube gone after many years, the copper powder will remain and prevent seizing.
I jstu purchased all new stainless bolts to reassemble my KampKook #10 with. I"m guessing to just hit them w/ some paint to dull them down. All w/ tax w/ less than $3
Never Sneeze, is the way to go. Only if you can't find Passivated stainless. Even where I use the best SS, I still use the NS.
I went to law school at Willamette University (in Salem, Ore. for the outlanders). I well-remember the smoke from the grass fires around the Valley after the season. Do they sitll burn the grass? I know they often had major wrecks on I-5 from smoke during burns. (Again for our outlanders, the grass-seed farmers would burn the grass fields all over the Willamette Valley after the seed harvest, for, as I recall the purpose of killing the weed seed that would otherwise fully infiltrate the fields and then, in turn, the grass seed, which was the crop.)
The Willamette Valley of Oregon has an interesting place in the history of the American West (yes, I'm getting close to 2000 [recorded] posts). It was happened-upon by mountain men in the 1820s and 30s somewhat regularly in the course of trapping and exploration. It was recognised early-on as an especially fertile and fine place to retire to from the trapping and trading life. (For non-residents of the area, the Willamette River runs north to the Columbia River in a big valley west of the Cascade Mountains and east of the ocean. Portland, Ore. is at the confluence of the Willamette with the Columbia.) Thus, in west coast of North America terms, it was settled early; before the California gold rush. Willamette Univ. if I recall correctly, was founded in 1843, by Jason Lee, a Methodist missionary, and is the oldest University west of the Mississippi, which is remarkable because western Oregon is way, way west of said Mississip....
When replacing the screws on a Coleman 530, best be carefull about making certain the replacement screws are not too long. I have a Coleman 530 tank that had a hole punched in it when a replacement screw was too long. Try each screw for length prior to assembly. I use brass screws and copper based anti- sieze. Ken H.
