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Is my Silvia dead?
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On the home straight.
Her new boiler is bolted down with Hammerbarn's fanciest marine-grade stainless steel bolts. They've been lubed up with nickel anti-sieze (bought a 250 g tin and used about a quarter of a gram) and locked down with spring washers. Everything is tightened to within a tenth of a newton-metre of stripping the threads.
Her new gasket has been moisturised by fancy Japanese silicone-grease designed for underwater camera housings.
And her black frame has had four coats of rust-inhibiting spray-paint and is glistening like obsidian under a midnight sky.
Now... can I remember how to put her back together? And, will she hold!?
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Wow, there is such a wealth of engineering knowledge on this forum!
Perhaps I'll give the nylon lock nuts a miss then, but I will use the spring washers. Given that the original fittings had neither (and weren't stainless) and they lasted 12+ years, I'm reasonably confident these should give me a few more good years!
The rust really wasn't too bad. I'm not convinced the phosphoric acid did very much at all, but grinding it off and painting it surely will. So far it's had two coats of Rust-Oleum primer and I will give it a top coat of Dulux epoxy enamel. Worst case: I have an old frame which I have been meaning to get sandblasted and powdercoated...
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I’m not sure how nylon lock nuts cope with heat, I normally use spring or lock washers in those situations(eg engines, boilers).Originally posted by 6ftbrl View Post
I have found the rust converter with sealer works better for me.
My worst case with just the sealer was on some galvanised stock yards I had for sale.
I applied the converter to some light rust around welds and checked it in the morning.
Note to self : galv and Phosphoric acid don’t mix.
I prefer a product called Xtroll for rust conversion.
Similar to penetrol but better.
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Thanks everyone for your suggestions and encouragement.
Unfortunately no amount of penetrant, acid, flame-throwing or elbow grease could turn the three remaining stuck screws. The galvanic corrosion seems to have all-but welded them to the brass.
I have, however, drilled them out, albeit imperfectly. I don't have a drill press, so I centre-punched and drilled from the underside.
I'm thinking that I can re-join the group head and boiler with longer bolts and nuts - rather than screws threaded through the group head.
I also think I'll use fibre washers, to provide some electrical isolation between the brass and stainless steel (although noting it might be pointless, as there is still contact between the two metals at the bolt shank). And definitely some nickel anti seize.
I'll post on update, wish me luck!
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Deck cleaners are usually around 20% oxalic. You could try applying it directly to the bolts and see how it goes.
BTW if you wipe over the brass with grease or vaseline before you start, the oxalic won't be able to reach the brass surface so it won't dezincify it.
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