Just a general interest-type question here -

Have seen 'Chemical Blackening' of parts talked about on the MNR website.

Can anyone explain what this involves? Presumably some sort of specialist company could do this also? How resistant is the finish to corrosion etc?

I just have no idea abou this process....

Think Frosts will sell you a DIY kit -- istr a Phoshate coating similar to that use on nuts and bolts and re-ground camshafts..

We have chemical blacking at where I work in the summer.

Its (well ours) is a 4 or 5 stage process. The first of which is a cleaning stage. The rest are different chemical treatments.

Sure you will find loads of info on it on the web somewhere.

David

Link to Frosts product page
http://www.frost.co.uk/item_Detail.asp?productID=8253

If you mean the kind of finish commonly found on socket cap bolts, it's not very rust resistant. Alright for indoor use, but not much good outdorrs or on a car (IMHO).

Nick

That's right, it will rust, but whether that worries you or not depends I suppose!

I will be using them on my car in a few places!

Can't you quench cherry red hot steel in old black used engine oil to give it a kind of blackened finish??? Oli.

Doesn't have to be red-hot - just hot enough so that the shiny metal starts to colour ('light straw' they used to call it). Dip it in the old oil, pull it out and let it drain, then re-heat. Repeat until you get the colour you want.

DISCLAIMER! This is what I did - there's lots of smoke, possibly flames, so there's risk involved (especially if the oil has only just been drained out of the engine). Be careful, do it outside, wear suitable protection, and, if all goes wrong, don't blame me!

David

[Edited on 26/1/06 by David Jenkins]

yea, used to do it in metalwork all the time to blacken metal, and yes every so often the oil goes up in flames, great fun when u r at school not so much fun in the garage.