After years of dormancy due to health problems, I have moved
some of my MGA project out of storage and into the garage. 
Even though I plan to take it slow, I figured the project
will go faster than it did with all the stuff in my freind's
barn  :)
Anyway, I bought this vibratory tumbler from Eastwood.  It
was advertised to remove rust from bolts quickly.   
The one I bought is the light duty one that comes with the
green plastic pyramid media and some brown "dry shine"
media.  I fooled around with it working on fender bolts and
washers (using green media).  It doesn't seem to work very
well.  I tried varying the amount of hardware I put into it.
 But it doesnt seem to matter.
I wonder if I am expecting too much from it.  Maybe the idea
is to throw five or ten bolts in there and let it run for a
week or two -- or a couple of months maybe.  Then maybe it
would make the bolts shiney.  Do you think?
Anybody have an opinion on these things?
I gave up and used an electrolysis set up (battery charger,
soda and water solution).  That takes the rust off but
leaves the parts coated in a "black colored rust" that is
not fun to get off either.
Next step for me may be muriatic acid and water solution. 
If that becomes a nuisance, maybe I'll quit screwing around
and just order new bolts and washers from Todd Clarke.  
Thanks for enduring my rambling rant.
Paul Hammarstedt
MGA basket cases
 
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