Rusty Arm bolts - any precautions?

[Anders Holck Petersen]

I have had my G50 for a while now, and the main bolt heads are beginning to show rust on the surface.

Any suggestions on treatment?

 

Performance is fine, but it looks odd, and I have heard that it's the look that matters these days :-)

[Richard James Lewis]

Now that you mention, it, mine are showing some signs of it too.

 

Would like to hear opinions.

 

-Rick

[Chris Konash]

Double wow, the bolts on mine are doing the same thing.

 

Maybe Tiffen should have used stainless...

 

I'm sure I didn't do what's best for the arm but I put some "T-9" on a cloth and just wiped the heads of the bolts. Seems to keep the rust look to a minimum.

 

Maybe someone else has a better idea of what to do.

 

Chris

[Brant S. Fagan SOC]

Gents--

 

What you all are encountering is normal for unprotected black oxide carbon steel bolts.

 

Simply put, stainless steel hardware is way more brittle and has much less tensile strength than high carbon steel bolts with a black oxide coating.

 

The best method for anti-fuzz protection is to regularly coat your exposed steel hardware with a corrosion inhibitor like CorrosionX or ACF-50. Both are available in non-aerosol pump spray bottles which are handy to carry with you for extra protection.

 

I prefer CorrosionX and have used it methodically since 1996 and have been extremely pleased with the results, not only on my Steadicam gear, but also on my Boston Whaler boat.

 

Good luck and good spraying!

 

Best,

 

Brant S. Fagan, SOC

Steadicam/Camera Operator

[Anders Holck Petersen]

Thanks Brant, I'll try CorrosionX.

There seems to be a Danish distributer, so it may be possible to do asap :-)

[Rhys Duncan]

i broke a rod on my old 3a arm , my advice go to a good engineer , they can often improve the original design , my 3a rods have a grub screw to hold them in place with a one quarter inch slot , ultimately they move over time as things loosen , my new pin has a drilled hole , it can not move anywhere so it remains tight .it is such a simple modification and just works so well.they said it broke because it was hardenned steel , they offered an alternative and time will tell if they are right but i suspect they are , they are offering me alternatives 20 years after my steadicam was built , i remember the tripler is a problem in a 3a rig , mine went but an engineer found me a better one out of a modern color television that was way better than the original,

[Christopher T. Paul- SOC]

I also love the CorrosionX, I carry it now as a regular tool for my iso-elastic arm- it took the very subtle creak out of the springs. I wouldn't have written just to chime in but I also wanted to comment to Anders: great avatar!

 

CP