What is the correct finish on the lug bolts for Pedrini, Mahle and Fuchs alloy wheels? Silver paint? Black paint? Plastic caps And, of course, everytime you remove the wheels and then remount them, you scuff the finish on the bolts once again. How were they finished originally, and how's an easy way to maintain a nice finish on them today? My '70 was originally delivered with 4.5" steelies w/hub caps AND aluminum trim rings . Since my Pedrinis were fitted 20 years ago, I have no idea how the bolts were finished when new.

The original factory finish on the 914 alloy lug nuts.......Silver Annodized.

The wheels are alloy, the lugs are steel...you cannot anodize steel. The lug bolts are silver cadmium plated.

Well, as someone who's never had "real Porsche" alloys, but does have "real Porsche alloy lugs", I'd have to agree - silver anoldizing.

Anyone need these things - I don't & never will. I'm a steel guy!

I think we are talking about two different things here...Aluminum (alloy) wheels and aluminum (alloy) lug nuts.

Factory 914 alloy wheels like the 4-bolt Fuchs, Mahles and Pedrinnis require steel lug bolts, they have a domed top and are silver cad plated. The only other 914 wheel bolts are the smaller steel bolts for the steel wheels. Steel is not a material that anodizing works with, its only process for aluminum.

911s and sometimes 914s (racers mostly) retrofit wheel studs pressed into the hubs which use aluminum alloy lug nuts..those aluminum parts might be anodized or even powdercoated (black)..I dont know I never really looked at them...

911s and sometimes 914s (racers mostly) retrofit wheel studs pressed into the hubs which use aluminum alloy lug nuts..those aluminum parts might be anodized or even powdercoated (black)..I dont know I never really looked at them...
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The 911's, 944's, 928's, etc. used a black anodized aluminum lug NUT (not a bolt) from the factory. I have a bucket of them around the garage somewhere. They got torn up more easily than the Steel Lug Bolts for the 914. But a nice silver paint covers the scuffed up 914 steel lug bolt heads very nicely! I suppose silver cad plating would be great too!

Oops, your absolutely correct. I meant to say silver cad not annodized. I'm at the age now that I don't always say what I mean. Getting old sucks.

So we(mainly youz) have determined that these steel lug bolts are(should be) silver. How do I get this finish back on these discolored bolts? Steel wool? Metal polish? Chemical stripper? Buffing? Maybe one or two look (mostly)silver, but the rest have a blackish/silver mottled appearance to them.

I'm sure everyone has a technique.

What I'd use is a fine wire brush in a Dremel to remove corrosion/rust, until you have clean steel. Then, I'd use the Dremel again, with a cloth buffing wheel & a light coating of Simichrome. They'll come out looking like a near-chrome finish.

Problem is that you'll need to periodically redo them w/Simichrome, but it can be done with the bolts in the wheel & a soft cloth.

Not sure what it would cost to have them re-silver cadded, but that would only last as long as the first time you put a lug wrench to them. Same thing if you clear coated them after polishing them.

Hi guys (Steve & Jeff)

I vote for the correct lug nut finish as Silver Cadmium Plate.

Just want to show some aluminum air intakes I just got finished by a local shop. Learned Aluminum is the only metal you can anodize. Here's some Aluminum parts I had "flat black anodized". One of them didn't come out well and I have to sand it down to remove scratches & pits to get a perfect finish.

Tom

They look like artwork! Shame to put them into an engine bay, only to get treated so badly (as engine bays do to parts). By the way, it looks like they were photo'd on something w/red paint? What's that?

Here's a picture of the lug nuts with the correct finish.

Hi Pat Garvey,

You asked what's that red paint under those black anodized parts. I know it's OT but I spent all day polishing the wifes 1990 Mercury Cougar with the supercharged motor (same car as the T-Bird Super Cpe). Car is a creampuff with 60K orig miles & oil changed every 3K. No one has ever sat in the back seat & about (2) times (me) on the front passenger seat. Were getting her a new car next spring & it's for-sale. I wonder if I can get $6,000 for it next spring???? Little old (middle age) lady's future collector car.

Tom

Mecedes and Audi both use Dacromet on their wheel bolts..Google Dacromet..
IF you do not mind a 17mm head on the long wheel bolts for the alloy wheels,,,
(and the head is flat) the Audi one will work better than that $45 junk ebay set that is chromed...Around 3.50 each I have a source...
The Ebay ones>Threads are off pitch a bit and can possibly strip your rotors......#2= the 'radius' is
way off on the dome..And can back out!!!!Beware of the ebay cheapies!!
My 73 2.0's on my Fuchs were original to the car...Had the Dacromet type
finish to them...Green Production paint stripe on them..
And the black caps as covers...
I had my originals 'Clear' Zinc coated...(silver)...They came out horrible...
Even a bit of a greenish tint to them....
Dacromet in my terms would be the best .....
on the bottom of my wheel bolts is stamped KX with the VW circle symbol..
I have a set of new ones from Porsche..That have close to a chrome finish
on them..(not as wonderfully machined as the originals) and no markings...
Does anybody else have a new set From Porsche out there???
Now on the early wheels..
I have pulled black and silver off of various years...Shorter and longer...
Seemed the star (X) 74 thru 76 steelies were a bit longer than the older steelies..
ALL had VW stamped on them.....

smg914,
NICE wheelwell! That is the finish I was hoping/looking for. I'll try the Garvey methodology first with the wheels still mounted on the car and see how they clean up. Thanks to all for the input.

AFAIK, the alloy-wheel bolts are first copper plated over the steel, then cad plated. I'll check with the plater when I drop in there. The plating should be tough enough to last several years worth of occasional wrenching.

Ok enough on the Lugs what about the Painted wheels? Mahles. On non-LE cars these are painted silver on LE cars they are two-tone, either Red or Yellow centers and silver rim edge... but what about the backside and inside of the wheel~?
Was that trim color or the silver ?

Anyone with an surviving OE LE wheel?

Can't answer your question on the LE wheels, Rich, but I just learned something. My '73 that I drove thoughout the '80s had Mahle wheels - love them BTW - and I had no idea the silver finish was painted.

The inside of the wheels on the LE cars were not painted like the face of the wheels. The insides of the LE optioned wheels were silver.

914runow is correct, the alloy wheels came with a steel lug bolt with black plastic caps on them and were silver cad plated with a green paint mark. I still have some with the silver cad and the green paint mark. Al.

Simple. Have them replated.

These are from my original 914 from when I polished another set and saved the originals. Al

Someone went crazy with the green paint on those lugs! The green paint was used to identify the correct rims (self-centering) for the first 8200 1973 2.0L cars, per recall campaign BO. Details here:

http://bowlsby.net/914/Classic/Recalls.htm

Wow, that would be rather unsightly on a car. Most people would remove that or cover it up. Very interesting to know however.

Pat - do you still have these & are they a perfect cond. set of 16?
... if so, how much?
... if not, I can still get new from Porsche as of now.

Tom
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Nope. The finish is what I've heard called by the 356 concours weenies "bright cad", and there was a splash of a greenish paint on each, I think to indicate it was properly torqued on the assembly line. Similar daubs of paint occur all over the undercarriage. The black plastic first appeared in 1974 on the 1.8s with the VW 4 spoke style steel wheels. I did innumerable PDIs at a dealership in both 1973 and 1974. The plastic lug bolt caps came in a bag with the center caps, the wiper arms and hardware, and miscellaneous other small bits and pieces.

The Cap'n

Actually, racers NEVER use aluminum alloy lug nuts!

We use wheels studs to be able to run thicker spacers, but nobody in their right mind would trust the aluminum alloy lug nuts for track use. In fact, i don't think any of the clubs out there let you run them.

Only open-end STEEL lug nuts, regardless of the material of the wheel itself.
Andy

PCA Club Rules:

"...must run an open nut with at least the width of the stud protruding beyond the end of the open nut..."

Meaning; you have to have a minimum 14mm worth of stud sticking out beyond the top of the steel nut.

Tom,
Sorry, been occupied.

These lugs are NOT factory. Stamped wirh "Ronal". Nice, but you can do better.
Pat