I recently installed s/steel bolts to mount my guards, bonnet etc on my 67 as I thought it would be good idea to reduce the chance of corrosion. I was just reading a post on the samba forums and this is part of a post
"also to keep in mind is that using s/steel against mild steel will cause a galvanic process to begin which basically means rust will start quicker on the mild steel part. coper slipping the bolts will lesen this but it will still occur".
Anyone else used s/steel fasteners on mild steel?, have you noticed any more corrosion?. Now im thinking it wasnt such a great idea.:duh

Cheers

[Edited on 13-11-2004 by himmell]

there is a grease that will stop any corrosion but cannot remember the name.you get it from boating stores like bias and whitworths and it is yellow.

just done the same:o will be following this post also

dunno but
i use silver antisieze on everything that dosent need locktight...

Although the statement on the Samba is correct, in practical terms the effect of the S/S bolts will b eminimal. The relative sizes of the bolts compared to the body panels effects the rate of corrosion. The bolts are very small compared to the body panels, therefore although the body panels will rust quicker with S/S bolts than with normal bolts the difference in corrosion rates wil be very very small.

As it is typically bolts which rust quickest, causing them to seize, the benefits outway the very slight increase in overall corrosion rates. If the car is not rusty now and has a good paint job with reasonable rust protection, it will make bugger all difference.

I have had S/S srews holding my rego plates on for the last two years or so and haven't noticed any extra rust. They look a hell of a lot better than the rusty old screws that were on there, so they're staying.

Go with the S/S fasteners, the Samba statement was probably made by somebody who knows only half the information.

an anti-corrosion compound should be used. Any different metals against each other will get galvanic corrosion though some do it more than others. Stainless in aluminium is asking for disaster unless you use an anti corrosion compound.

Aqua-lube boat trailer bearing grease is good, but there's a few choices at any marine shop. Beryllium based ones work the best, but don't lick your fingers.

I looked into this and the effect of using s/s in mild steel will effect it in such a minor way you could not really see the differance.
Hence I have replaced EVERY nut and bolt in my bus with stainless.

Cheers
Dave

If you are going to cover every nut & bolt with Lanotec or something similar, don't bother with S/S fasteners. If it stops galvanic corrosion it will stop M/S bolts from rusting too.

Ask for grade A4-80 fasteners, these are 316 S/S with the same strength as grade 8.8 high tensile fasteners. These should be strong enough for virtually all applications on a VW except for maybe some suspension and engine fittings. Just check the grade of the existing fasteners before you replace them. If you need stronger ones they will start to get expensive and harder to find.

has anyone got a listing of the bolts for a Bug?
I seem to remember someone once mentioning they had a complete listing of all the bolts in a bug????
I know that if they did, it would be a much easier purchase from a supplier than walking in every two to three days and asking for another five of this, and three of that.......

I have used Hi-Tensile stainless ones where needed and yes it was expensive.
$13.00 each for the top front shocker bolts.

Cheers
Dave

the normal Stainless steel bolts sold at the local Bolt shop [30kms away] are lower tensile than High tensile bolts but higher than mild steel bolts...
I have used a mixture of Stainless steel and zinc plated high tensile Gr5 & Gr8 & Gr10 bolts in My Beetle...
I don't like black High tensile Bolts...
John Deere tractor dealers sell zinc plated High Tensile bolts..

I really like the Allen headed stainless bolts but they are expensive when the sizes get bigger.....
I don't mind buying them a few at a time then it doesn't seem like You are spending much money......
until You add it all up...

I made new exhaust studs from Stainless steel bolts with the heads cut off.... with stainless nuts...

Lee

thankyou very much blutopless! anyone got the list penguin mentioned by any chance??:bounce

Hmmm, stainless is generally more susceptible to fatigue than standard high strength steel. The galvanic corrosion will not be an issue unless there is some return path for the current, as is the case in seawater, where galvanic protection works quite well: see for example the Det Norske Veritas (DNV) standard DNV-RP-B401, "Cathodic Protection Design", which deals with sacrifical anode design for marine structures. Perhaps in very wet environments there may be some localised accelerated corrosion around the interface between the SS and the mild steel...

Sounds good to me though. Cheers, Aurel.

dont walk into a nut n bolt place and ask for 10 6mm ,20 8mm etc you will be ripped--always buy boxes of the common sizes ,you will be surprised how few there are -- and you will find the price much lower:beer:beer:beer

Nope,

I guess that you may have to do it 1 bolt at a time (until you get to the guards, then its a stack of bolts at a time)

Aways try to buy your s/s bolts from a boating warehouse/shop, I can buy s/s bolts cheaper from the marina in town than I can get shitty mild steel ones from bunnings, almost 50% cheaper......

For what it's worth,

http://www.aircooled.net/new-bin/viewproductdetail.php?keyword2=THK0001&carti... 

and

http://totallystainless.net/totally.html 

I expect freight would be a killer, so local suppliers will probably work out better.
hth

Lee, don't mean to teach my granny to suck eggs, but stainless on stainless will gall when it gets hot so the nuts will seize onto the studs and you'll be lucky to get them off again. Always use anti sieze in this situation.

In sydney try Mullings Fastners on Botany Road Alexandrea, or Coventry Fastners in Bourke Street Alexandrea.
Most fastneers in stock, in different metals grades and sizes.