Bolt Restoration Tips and Tricks Needed

[Wiredworm]

I'm not sure who it was but I seem to recall reading a while ago about cutting slits into a box and using it to hold bolts whilst you respray their heads?

In addition to this useful tip can anyone recommend to me the process I should be following and what paints to use?

I've just got my side rails and backbox brackets back from the coaters and they've been done in fire engine red. Looks very nice but i'm not sure if I should do the bolts red or black to give some contrast.

Any tips on preparing them for painting would be greatly appreciated. Do I need to use primer/undercoat or what first? Are there any preparatory steps such as sanding recommended?

Thanks in advance

 

[Steve]

If I have time I tend to tumble my bolts for a few days prior to painting to remove any crap, but otherwise I use a Dremmel with a wire brush and clean each head as much as possible, clean with white spirit to remove grease, poke them into an old box cut with an X to hold them in place and hit with 2 coats of grey primer then 2-3 coats of satin black.

In this weather it's a good idea to warm the bolts in the oven first, and warm paint by leaving in a bowl of hot water for at least 10 minutes before shaking. This will help the paint flow nice and even.

 

[Wiredworm]

Thanks Steve.

Does look like the contrast of the black works well against the red.

 

[Steve C]

Would go for black to add a bit of contrast as might be hard to match the red.