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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 347
 
Location: Ocean Park, Washington | Putting intake manifold back on 331 poly, painted the bolt heads. What is the best way to install bolts that are painted without damaging the paint? |
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Expert
Posts: 3967
  
Location: DFW, TX | Before painting, take time to prep the bolt by removing all grease and lightly sanding/scuffing/sandblasting the exposed areas to give the paint something to adhere to. Make sure the paint you are using is high quality, applied properly, and fully cured before tightening. If you're really particular, you can run tape around the edges of the bolt head and select a socket size that fits, but don't do this for fasteners that require a specific torque. If you are able to "detail" the area after assembly with a light coat of paint, that will help.
It is very important to be careful when tightening. Don't tighten at an odd angle because the socket can slip and damage the bolt edges. Also, non-OEM bolts commonly don't have a "stop" at the bottom of the head, which allows your tool to dig down to the part you are assembling. I know I have metal "rings" around the bolt head anytime I use them. That's why a lot of restorers are very particular about re-using old bolts. I hope this helps. I'm sure others here have good tips and I'm interested to hear them too. |
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Expert
Posts: 3577
Location: Blythewood, SC | Bolt it together then paint it. No matter how hard you try, you will mess up the paint otherwise. |
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Expert
Posts: 1302
Location: Skaneateles,NY(summer)/Port St.Lucie,FL(winter) | What I do is to spray a bit of the silver engine paint into the cap, and use an artists brush to touch up... |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 7806
Location: Williams California | A few years back there was a company selling sockets with a hard nylon hex insert that were made for this purpose. I have no idea if they worked well or not.
---John |
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Expert
Posts: 2612
Location: Parts Unknown | 345 DeSoto - 2010-03-20 7:47 AM
What I do is to spray a bit of the silver engine paint into the cap, and use an artists brush to touch up...
Detailed many an engine bay this way . . . even used this method to touch-up the manifolds and motor itself . . .  |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 500
Location: Upper East Tennessee | Well, I'm going with mostly all black bolts because I can buy them treated with black oxide. This seems to hold up very well. After that I use some spray on high heat engine clear to make them shine. |
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painted bolt heads
