Suggestion on finish

[jon rand]

I have a friend that works in the automotive plating business he said those parts are run through a phosphate bath then through oil and ran through the bake oven. He said its simply a cheap rust preventative. It's done to parts when auto makers dont want the cost of plating or painting. Hope this helps

[SS427]

Maybe thats exactly what it is, just a baked on oil finish. I know it comes off very easily with a lacquer rag.

I have tried dipping parts in a 400 degree dirty oil bath which is great for darkening and treating cast iron parts like spindles. Never tried it on bare steel parts, I may try that and see what it does. Thanks guys.

[Kurt S]

Did you coat the parts after the hot oil dip?

[SS427]

No. The hot oil penetrates deep in the pores of the cast iron and makes for a pretty good seal. I doubt anything would stick. I do coat other bare steel parts with Bo-Shield which is a wax based product made for Boeing Aircraft and that works excellent.