LocostUSA.com

We buy lasercut, and CNC bent, steel components by the hundreds, so y'all can buy them from us by the half dozens, without paying setup charges and minimum order restrictions. We have some pre-plague parts still in stock, because for some reason, fewer Locosts were being built during the travel-and-work restrictions of the early COVID festivities.

Thanks to the famous Oregon weather (rainy a lot with temperature fluctuations) steel stuff gets condensation, and peppered with surface rust, even when kept indoors. It's thin and brushes off easily with a wire wheel or wire brush, or during your post-welding pre-painting prep...but first impression is Kinetic doesn't care much about finish quality.

My excuse is, well, we don't, at least not on anything that you're going to weld onto your chassis. Any ideas for us? I don't want to oil up weldable parts, or even paintable parts, but something to make us look more like a real parts supplier would be nice, right??

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Locost builder and adventurer, and founder (but no longer owner) of Kinetic Vehicles

I don't see anything wrong with being oiled, most tubing comes with an oily protectant.

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Peace, Ron

I agree. I order roughly $8000 of metal a year for the school and all of the steel comes with a coating and oily. All the brake rotors we use in the auto shop are oiled and sealed in a bag. I've ordered mandrel bends for making headers - oily. If it isn't painted, oil it. End user is always responsible for degreasing before welding/painting.

Hi Jack,
I like to use the metal prep from the home improvement store. It costs about $20 for a gallon of concentrate. Mix 1:1 or 2:1 in a hand spray bottle and mist the parts. It is essentially phosphorous and will stop the rust and protect long enough for them to receive the parts.

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The laser shop we typically use stocks pickled & oiled sheet

My most recent order looked like that, but I just shrugged and hit them with the wire wheel along with everything else I was welding. Personally I don't care...

Yup, I'm with you. Honestly even if the surface is covered in surface rust, it's nothing a few minutes of a flap wheel won't fix.

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My build -> viewtopic.php?t=15585

Where I work I've noticed that inventory stored in cardboard boxes does okay if it's only stored short-term. Stuff that has been on the shelf for months or years starts to be a problem. Turns out that cardboard is processed with acid, and usually there's some residue that will activate when it's damp. Cardboard also outgasses sulfur, which can be corrosive. What we've found is that lining the boxes with plastic bags works well, as does VCI paper.

But, like others were saying, those of us who weld and fabricate don't expect pristine metal. I go for the wire wheel if I need to.

Mike

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Mk1 GTI (sold)
E30 M3 (sold . . . shouldn't have)
Subaru Brat (sold)
Many others . . .