Stainless steel bolts in aluminium - a good idea?

grandpaul said:

Good ol' Rust-O-Leum.

Gotta love it.

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That particular brand isn´t available in my part of the world, have to find something else.

I use Never-Seize liberally on all nuts and bolts.
Lately I put a set of button head allen SS screws in my P11 timing cover. Its a different look, not the knobby allens you usually see. Had to narrow the head a smidgen in the lathe.

acotrel said:

Stainless steel contains chromium and nickel and a low level of iron.

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I believe you mean a low level of carbon rather than a low level of iron?

There are products that allow use of stainless steel (316 & similar) on aluminium (masts/booms/etc) in a marine environment successfully
It worked for me for many years with no adverse effects
The product I used (I'm sure there are other, similar products) was Duralac - a bit like yellow toothpaste - comes in a tube
It works like a barrier between the dissimilar metals - wipe the excess of the joint and allow to harden
When the joint is pulled apart the Duralac looks/feels like pliable plastic
May have an application in other fields?....
Cheers
Rob

Thread antisieze compound in small tubes - available at any automotive parts outlet.

The original type Cad plating which the Judges love is the real crap. It tends to develop little black spots of corrosion, even when the bike is stored in a dry space.
It's right up there with the leaky cork type fuel taps, which Judges also slather over.

Stainless looks as new forever and solves a lot of problems if used as directed.

Glen

Silicone "dielectric" grease is easy to find and works well for sealing out moisture and lubing threads. You can use it on your electrical connections as well to prevent corrosion. I would check its temperature range before using it on heads and cylinders, but wouldn't hesitate on cases.

I use some stuff called Thread-Eze Ultra for my favorite assembly paste on my sail boat and my motorcycles. I love it, but sadly it is almost impossible to find in anything but commercial sizes. I suppose I should buy it by the tub and repackage it in tubes. Maybe that can be my retirement job. I've attached a file here about the product just in case it comes in handy.

worntorn said:

The original type Cad plating which the Judges love is the real crap. It tends to develop little black spots of corrosion, even when the bike is stored in a dry space.
It's right up there with the leaky cork type fuel taps, which Judges also slather over.

Stainless looks as new forever and solves a lot of problems if used as directed.

Glen

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little black spots? heres some 50yr old cad factory plating, still lookin pretty good in my purists eyes. SS is OK and very shiny/ pretty, but how will a person reproduce that correct look with it? Don't forget the correct markings, again only a purist thing.

A lot of stainless steel seizing problems are down to the fact that most SS threads are cut whereas carbon steel threads are rolled. A cut thread will pick up or gall, copper slip will improve things. Removing the front mudguard of my triumph street triple had the threads in the alloy fork sliders come out on the SS screws. Modern bikes have blue glue on the threads to stop them coming loose adding to the problem.

Using Mastinox between dissimilar metals will minimise galvanic corrosion. I always use anti seize or assembly lube with stainless on stainless, have never had any problems. Love stainless fasteners

gripper said:

A lot of stainless steel seizing problems are down to the fact that most SS threads are cut whereas carbon steel threads are rolled. A cut thread will pick up or gall, copper slip will improve things. Removing the front mudguard of my triumph street triple had the threads in the alloy fork sliders come out on the SS screws. Modern bikes have blue glue on the threads to stop them coming loose adding to the problem.

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Actually, the threads in most high strength stainless fasteners (ARP, NAS, etc.) are also rolled. I don't know about common hardware store stuff, so maybe the low strength ones have cut threads.

Ken