Topic: Phosphating Hood Hinges Plus -

[jwc66k]

I finally got around to doing some phosphating this last weekend and here are some of the results.
Pic a - before phosphating, all items bead blasted, none touched without vinyl gloves or a shop towel.
Pic b - just the hardware. This is California where the humidity is low so a shop towel will not absorb moisture.
Pic c - hinges, springs, latches and some other items underneath.
Pic d - the setup: a propane two burner stove; a fish poacher (all pans and tools are stainless steel); strainers; chemicals (in plastic containers); stainless hook; small pans; a towel to air dry bolts and small items (the white thing on the lower RH corner). Not shown: a deep fat fryer thermometer; watch; rinse water container (I use a 20 gallon wash tub); wire parts hangers to air dry big items (I use old coat hangers); a oiling container (newspapers and a shop towel in the cover of a 30 gallon plastic trash container); WD-40.
Pic e - the results.
Pic f - from the RH side.
Pic g - 65 Mustang hood hinges, springs, latch, auxiliary catch.
Pic h - 66 Fairlane hood hinges, springs. The springs are the same as 64-66 Mustangs, the hinges are very close to 64-66 Mustangs but have different (smaller) fender mounting brackets.
Pic i - 67 GT-350 hinges, springs, latch and latch bracket. Note the smaller diameter of the springs.
Pic j - everything else. Note the metal shower rings used on anything small with a hole in it to keep those items from getting "lost".
If you have questions, ask away.
Jim
 

[J_Speegle]

Thanks - love the metal shower curtain rings. Have used them for other purposes (holding groups of door or buck tags together) just hadn't applied them to plating yet

[jwc66k]

Thanks, it was Rich C and Bruce C (you remember those two) that got me into phosphating many moons back. It's a long boring process (what isn't) so I'm always applying some Yankee ingenuity to make it easier.
Jim

[Oz390]

What temperature do you do it at....??

[jwc66k]

I heat filtered water (charcoal cartridge type) on my indoor natural gas stove in a large covered stainless pot to boiling, carry the pot to the outdoor stainless tank and reheat to over 180F. That answers your question, and it should be on the instructions accompanying the phosphoric acid. I fill the tank to about 1/4 inch from the top.
Some additional thoughts: the filter removes particles from the water; the boiling lowers the chlorine level; indoor natural gas is cheaper than propane; the wind outdoors sometimes blows out the flame; I keep the cover on the tank to keep the temperature as high as possible, even while cooking parts; have an old pot holder handy; start with large parts that should have a light, natural finish, then do hardware or items that need to be black; light finish cooking time is about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, hardware is 8 to 10 minutes; I use Eastwood metal black to get hardware dark; add water as needed to keep the level up, water boils off.
One more thing, I have a five gallon plastic bucket that I use to pour the remaining used phosphoric bath into when it's cool, then add a cup or two of baking soda (Borax) to neutralize the liquid. After the liquid evaporates (that may take some time), break up the residual mess, bag it and dispose of. To placate the skeptics, add more baking soda, acid remains are a no-no, alkali is better.
Jim   

[J_Speegle]

Thanks, it was Rich C and Bruce C (you remember those two) that got me into phosphating many moons back. .............

Of course - spent the day with Bruce and Richard during the last VMOA show last month

For heating my pans I use an older propane Coleman two burner camp stove I picked up on Ebay.  Kind of cool stove that folds up into a approx 1' x 1' x 6" shape when not in use for storage

[sportyworty]

I use an Electric George Forman Grill. It takes awhile to hit 180 with a full stainless turkey baster. I made a permanent kit out of a snap on tool cart. Make my own brew with prep and etch from Home Depot and Manganese from a local pottery store. Poor the contents around my fruit trees after and then dilute with a heavy water soak. Makes for a safe controlled indoor task. Thanks for the hook tip. I buy different stainless gadgets at Target like hot dog tongs etc. Canning stuff works well for baskets too

[jwc66k]

Make my own brew with prep and etch from Home Depot and Manganese from a local pottery store. Poor the contents around my fruit trees after and then dilute with a heavy water soak. Makes for a safe controlled indoor task. Thanks for the hook tip. I buy different stainless gadgets at Target like hot dog tongs etc. Canning stuff works well for baskets too

Someone recommended the Home Depot source but did not know the proportions of chemicals to use. I didn't want to experiment (mad scientist as I am) so store bought pre-mixed manganese phosphate was my choice. You can get pre-mixed from Amazon. My stainless tool source is a large Oriental supermarket where selection is good and cheap is helpful. Based on your canning stuff comment, I'll look for a stainless strainer or basket to try on small hardware for handling purposes.
Jim 

[lancelot66]

Nothing short of Spectacular for results I'd say Jim. You're giving me courage...I just may add this as another project for this winter. Love the hood latch assembly and the coil strap! Very nice pictures too. Thank you!

-Lance

[jwc66k]

I needed to finish out the order for one set of hinges that required some additional hardware, so here's todays task. Note the use of metal plumbers tape to hold 5/16-18 bolts for bead blasting. Tap the holes with a 5/16-18 tap if necessary, tight enough so the bolts don't fall out but loose enough to turn by hand to blast the threaded section covered by the metal tape missed on the first pass. I use the smaller holes for 1/4 inch machine screws and 1/4 inch sheet metal screws. Larger bolts, 3/8 and up, can be handled without an aid like this. For a lot of small screws, try a metal basket. I use the one sold by TIP in Ohio. For small lots of smaller screws, I use alligator clips, about 3 inch long.
As I had not disposed of the phosphate bath from last weekend, I reheated it.
Pic a - 17 each, three different types, 5/16-18 fender type screws racked up.
Pic b - bead blasted.
Pic c - after phosphate, air drying. I used a smaller covered stainless steel pan for this.
Pic d - oiled.
Total time, about 30 minutes for bead blasting and phosphating; another 45 to air dry and oil.
Jim
 

[Anghelrestorations]

Looks great.  I am lucky enough to have someone here in town that does this and I just need to clean the parts and drop them off. 
I like the contrast between the hood hinges and the springs.  Did you do anything special there?

[jwc66k]

I used the metal blackening solution from Eastwood, about a minute in that stuff does it. Because of the length and shape (the spring won't fit in a bowl), I use a 6 inch long, rectangular, stainless serving tray. The bowl does has its uses as it is easy to scoop out nuts, bolts, screws and other hardware items.
One problem I had was the white glass beads getting stuck in the coils, especially visible after the darkening dip, so I rigged up a hook on a beam, used a tie down strap with hooks to make a loop and with some downward pressure from my right foot on the loop, and a brush, got the beads out.
One more thing, I use the tie down strap to remove and install the springs to the hinges while the hinges are still on the car. That reduces any scratch marks on the hinge mounting plate you might get from a vice (another method that can be used).
Jim

[Bob Gaines]

I used the metal blackening solution from Eastwood, about a minute in that stuff does it. Because of the length and shape (the spring won't fit in a bowl), I use a 6 inch long, rectangular, stainless serving tray. The bowl does has its uses as it is easy to scoop out nuts, bolts, screws and other hardware items.
One problem I had was the white glass beads getting stuck in the coils, especially visible after the darkening dip, so I rigged up a hook on a beam, used a tie down strap with hooks to make a loop and with some downward pressure from my right foot on the loop, and a brush, got the beads out.
One more thing, I use the tie down strap to remove and install the springs to the hinges while the hinges are still on the car. That reduces any scratch marks on the hinge mounting plate you might get from a vice (another method that can be used).
Jim

A lot of useful Ideas . To add my 2 cents on the spring removal on the car,I would use one of the longer spare tire "J" hooks to grab the spring at the loop and lever it (pivoting on the hinge frame) ether in place or out of place. I got pretty good at this ( could do both in 60 secs or less)  because of a certain 69 GT500 that used to own I would use the springs when I had the hood (connected) up but found that if I disconnected them the hood would not flex and bow but rather lay flat when down.

[J_Speegle]

I've  hay hooks also for installing the springs - did wrap the hook with duct tape to reduce the chance of scratching the spring's plating

[sportyworty]

Looks great.  I am lucky enough to have someone here in town that does this and I just need to clean the parts and drop them off. 
I like the contrast between the hood hinges and the springs.  Did you do anything special there?

Marcus different steel compositions seem to color darker and quicker than others. The springs are one of them. I just did 12 sets of 68 hinges and the same time and heat were used for the hinges and springs with same great results as the pics posted. The springs are darker.