Admittedly this little tip isn’t rocket science, and I have no idea where I picked it up, but it’s pretty handy. I use this frequently, particularly when reassembling a fresh project. This is a simple way to protect fasteners from tool damage.
I do a quite a bit of zinc replating of original fasteners using the little Eastwood kit, and I also use a lot of NOS or OEM fasteners if the originals are too rough to restore by replating. To prevent marring the fresh fasteners, I use small pieces of readily-available plastic to act as a barrier between the tool – socket or wrench – and the fastener head, be it a nut or bolt. There is usually plenty of clearance when using a thinner plastic and almost any plastic will do, the thin cheap bags used everywhere these days, or even the slightly heavier plastic commonly used for for small parts from OEM suppliers. I prefer to use the heaviest plastic I can while allowing for proper fit of the tool to the part and ensuring adequate purchase.
You may find that occasionally a chrome item, especially if it was freshly rechromed, will require a thinner plastic, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a situation where I couldn’t find a piece of plastic that would work, regardless of the circumstances.
This technique really does work… if you are concerned about protecting those fresh fasteners, give it a try.
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