I am getting rust on many of the allen-head bolts on my bike (seatpost binder bolt, stem bolts, chainring bolts). Apparently, these things aren't made of stainless steel? But other parts of the same bolt are not rusting. Is there some coating put on the bolts that gets worn off from the allen wrench? I'm able to get the rust off with Brillo pads, but it always comes back after it gets wet.

Does anyone have any recommendations for this? It really ruins the otherwise beautiful apperarance of my bike. Any good sources of true stainless steel bolts? Or while I'm at it I guess I could get titanium.

The surface rust is really not much to worry about. If you're really worried about the unsightly appearance, just get a bottle of Phil's Tenacious Oil which is more viscous than slug-snot and using a Q-tip dab some in, on and around the bolt head. That should keep it from rusting.

Stainless steel M5 allen bolts are available at any good hardware store.
You can protect non stainless bolt heads with a coating of wax. This picks up less dirt than oil or grease. The threads should be greased to prevent binding.

Yeah. Wax works well. A spray-on furniture wax-polish will work for that. Another option is to get a spraycan of clearcoat from the local hardware or auto-supply store.

They're nickel plated. Nickel plating does not get into tight corners, as in the allen bolt's hole, so these tend to rust in there. I replaced many of mine with stainless.

I live by the ocean, I have five bikes and I hate rust. I get stainless fasteners from Bolt Depot. Toronto Cycles is my favorite source for titanium. Stainless is not expensive at all. Titanium is very expensive and probably not worth it just to save a few grams.

I oil all of the original fasteners and store them in zip lock bags.

I polish all the fasteners on a cotton wheel with rouge before I install them.

Yes, I've been accused of being anal retentive.

For regular bolts, pretty much any lubricant will inhibit rust. Once the bolts are already rusted though, your ride will look decidedly older (dare I say, ghetto?).

Back when my bike was new enough that I cared about such things, I would sometimes dip a Q-tip in silver paint and dabbed it in all the rusty bolt holes. It flakes off eventually, but it tends to stick more in the corner where the nice orange oxidation was, and was probably the fastest possible way to fix (well, conceal) the problem.

Just found that Bolt Depot site. What a great site! Those stainless bolts ARE cheap. Awesome :)

rouge? what does that do for them?

Buffing/Polishing Compounds & Jewelers Rouge- These compounds can be used to smooth and/or shine metals, plastic, wood, and other materials. The names Buffing compound and polishing compound are used interchangeably and refer to fine abrasive fillers combined with greases which are formed into solid bars or liquid. Jewelers rouge or red rouge is the finest compound originally developed by the jewelry trade for buffing precious metals. Jewelers rouge will bring out the maximum luster and a mirror like finish.

I've killed rust in allen head bolts by taking them to work and putting a mild acid solution in the head. After the rust is all out I then spray the heads with clearcoat. That seems to work. You can also probably use Naval Jelly in the heads.

Depending on time, worry, inspiration, etc. I either shoot a tiny little bit of WD-40 (with the straw) in the hole, or dab my Allen key in grease and insert it in the bolt head.

I put silicone grease in bolt heads. It forms a clear jello-like coating which not only protects the bolt, but also makes it a pain in the arse for a thief to get an allen wrench in there. With a pair of tweezers, it's easy to yank the silicone out of the bolt head when you need to work on it...

So you're a proponant of silicon implants? :D

Let's just say that, when I see my bolts a-jigglin', I get all warm and fuzzy inside ;)

What Zoloft said.

After you install, tightenm or adjust, spray some clearcoat over the bolt head.

Great point! But, I believe you are talking about silicone gasket compound (aka gorilla snot), and not silicone grease. Silicone grease does not harden like RTV. It's important to get some grease under the bolt heads - not just on the threads. This plays a very important part in torqueing things properly, if you are into that.

I CANNOT STAND RUSTY BOLTS!!!!!!!!!!!
There I said it. I find that the stainless you get at the local hardware stores do not hold up that great. I don't know why, they just don't.
I am thinking about going to titanium-not because of the weight thing-but because they don't rust.
D

Just remember that ti bolts bring with them their own set of issues. Be sure to invest in some ti-prep.

Ah yes, you're right. It is silicone gasket compound, not grease. It comes in a tube for about $2 from Home Depot. Does the trick if you want to deter both theft and rust :)

Egads man, it's a freakin' MOUNTAIN BIKE.

Not the space shuttle, a bullet train, or anything of the like.

I use a transparent rust protectant for cars; Tectyl Universal 506 from Valvoline. A quick dab with a Q-tip keeps the rust away.

Erling.

FIRST OF ALL DON'T GET YOUR BIKE WET.
REMEMBER THAT RUST IS ALIVE, GROWING AND SPREADING.
YOU HAVE TO KILL THE RUST.
USE FINE STEEL WOOL ROLLED INTO A POINT, USE A MICRO OILER, AND SOME 30 WEIGHT,QUAKER STATE, WORK THE RUST OUT OF THE HEX ,
THEN TAKE A PAPER TOWEL AND REMOVE ALL THE OIL AND STEEL WOOL RUST DUST.
NEXT, AFTER DRYING , APPLY CANDLE WAX TO THE HEX, AND WORK IT IN WITH AN ALLEN WRENCH.
tHE BOLT HEX OPENING IS NOW FULLY SEALED FROM ALL OXIDATION.

KK that is good advice, but seeing that you're in Japan also, you should know that my bike is going to get wet unless I don't ride half the year.

Are you AF? I work in Yokosuka at the Navy base.