Need chrome bolts?

[Canuck750]

One thing I learned from my visit to the Benelli / MotoBi Museum this summer is that for the most part the fasteners on the bikes appear to be chrome with no face stamping.



The fasteners on my project were badly corroded and I did clean them up and have them cad platted but the finish is nowhere as nice as the chrome bolts I would like to have, but chrome is very expensive and I have had bad results in the past trying to get bolts re-chromed. So for this bike I bought a bunch of new stainless steel bolts and nuts but the faces are stamped and the stainless is not bright polished



I filed off the face stamping, then I ran a foam pad random orbital sander with 240 grit over the face and slightly domed the top surface followed by a buffing on a coarse polishing wheel with white polish

stores open 24 hrs near me

I replaced all the 6, 8 and 10 mm bolts and nuts, the results are hard to tell that the fasteners are not chrome







it is a cheap and easy alternative to sourcing chrome bolts

[guido guzzi]

Thank you Jim!
Some of my V7 Sport's chrome bolts are getting a little rough-looking.   

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

I stick stainless bolts up in the lathe and turn the head clean, plus start the polishing process there as well.

[AJ Huff]

Does Stainless Cycle still exist? He was a Guzzi guy at one time. He put together polished stainless hardware kits. I bought one for my Ambassador years ago. Still in the box LOL. Never got around to replacing stuff. But was a well put together kit.

-AJ

[Antietam Classic Cycle]

Does Stainless Cycle still exist? He was a Guzzi guy at one time. He put together polished stainless hardware kits. I bought one for my Ambassador years ago. Still in the box LOL. Never got around to replacing stuff. But was a well put together kit.

-AJ

Yes, mostly sells on ebay now. https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_ssn=stainlesscycle

[Canuck750]

I stick stainless bolts up in the lathe and turn the head clean, plus start the polishing process there as well.

That is how I do it but I described an approach for those who do not have a lathe. I run the lathe while applying the palm sander over the bolt face at the same time, makes very fast work of it.

[kballowe]

I chuck 'em up in the drill press.  fast & easy.  A lathe would be nicer, though.

 

[berniebee]

Plus if these SS bolts get somehow tarnished or scratched, it's easy to get them right back to new!   Great idea.

[bigbikerrick]

Beautiful attention to detail! I dont think I have the patience, to do that, but its nice to know it can be done to perfection. I usually just run a brass wire wheel over the bolts head to clean it up a bit, and thats it. If I am feeling "spunky"I may polish the head with a little wenol metal polish and  #0000 steel wool.
Rick.