What is consensus on painted chain and hangers?

From past pressures to do so, I have been dutifully and thoroughly painting my chain and hangers for the past few years. But it seems that the main antagonist activist regarding this topic may be kind of tied up with other more pressing matters. Amazing in retrospect how much he ended up herding us up in some ways?
I don't really feel like it, but if most people feel it is a necessity, I will. Lately, I have been buying Fixe plated steel stuff which seems to dull in shine soon after exposure to the elements. Buying already color anodized equip is quite a bit more expensive.
I kind of agree with Smoot on this, I like to be able to see the bolts! If that is difficult after painting for the climber, I doubt if anyone on the trail or road is going to be bothered by them. What is the consensus?

We tend to paint the hangers just to dull the shine not hide the hanger from hikers and climbers alike. A new hanger can reflect like a mirror in the sun and even hikers hundreds of yards from the crag can see them.
Obviously in areas that see as many hikers as climbers we try to camo the hangers as best we can. Though the line of chalked holds between the bolt hangers has always seemed more an eyesore to me than the hangers themselves.

Personally, I feel that shiney stainless steel unpainted bolts and hangers are beautiful. I feel that painting them is aesthetically similar to when our grandparents generation painted beautiful natural woodwork in their homes white to make their homes look "more modern."
I like the unpainted and feel that you are less likely to miss a clip when they aren't camouflaged.
However, I ALWAYS paint my fixed anchors to prevent possible access issues that may arise when non-climber types complain after spotting them. Sad, but true.

Jimbo wrote:Though the line of chalked holds between the bolt hangers has always seemed more an eyesore to me than the hangers themselves.

I agree that chalk creates more of an eyesore than most hangers.

I used to hate chalk balls, although I recently started using them because certain gyms don't allow anything else. Once you get used to them, they actually work pretty well, and a side benefit is that they leave very little residue on holds, both indoors and outside.

I assumed James was just a gym rat, I saw him lurking at Momentum today. All the bolts are well camoflauged there.

Seriously, I don't think people really care that much. The real eyesores are colorful nylon anchors.

For really shiny hangers and anchors, try applying 2 - 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Automobile Primer in a color that matches the stone. Works great, cheap solution. This can be done carefully to existing routes with a cut-out piece of cardboard. Experiment at home first so you don't paint the rock.

I have no problem with camouflaged anchors but prefer the bolts and hangers to be unpainted - it sucks to miss a clip or have to look too hard to find it. Guess I haven't seen any that I thought were that reflective. Admittedly, I don't have the best eyesight and I realize that some crags are really quite heavily bolted. But sometimes when looking at a wall I see all kinds of reflective or dark spots that may or may not be a bolt. I have to move around and get a good look from several angles to be sure. I've often wondered how the average non-climber can discern such things from a distance and suspect that for many of them the issue is psychosomatic; they "see" the bolts and are offended only because they see climbers on the wall. But unfortunately, this is something we as climbers must be concerned with for access reasons. I for one have never found a few bolts here and there to be diminishing to the beauty of the rock.

I've seen all sorts of colors used to camouflage fixed gear (James, do you remember the anodized pins on Snakeskin at Ibex?). As long as the color is relatively neutral and dull, does it really matter what color is used? I think that the biggest visual impact is the blinding glare from the sun, which paint can easily solve. But I'll admit that there are some bolts out there that are practically invisible! I've seen some interesting color choices too. In an unfamiliar area, I was standing five feet from a granite dome and I thought that I saw the silhouette of a hanger on the horizon. Upon closer inspection, I realized that the whole face was bolted with RED hangers. I couldn't believe how well the camouflage worked from that short distance. When climbing the route, they were really easy to see against the mostly white rock with a spattering of reddish patina.

Out of curiosity, do you think that paints like Rust-Oleum prevent or slow down the corrosion of chains and hangers?

We only paint them if they are an eyesore (plated carbon steel) and may attract the attention of non-climbers. Some people paint them so you can't even find the start of a route or find them while climbing the route. No point in putting them up if people cannot find them. I too love a line of bolts snaking their way up an impossible looking piece of stone.

Many great comments from all. I pretty much agree with Jimbo in that I too, dislike the mirror look of a bolt shining 1/2 a mile away or so. I have used the Rustoleum, but only one coat in the past due to laziness.

I guess the bottom line is when access is an issue....you know the story no doubt why bolting and rock climbing is forbidden in the Philippines? Always a nation of people anxious to get their American brothers opinions on matters....when rangers there were approached by rock climbers, they wrote the US NPS for advice. Apparently, NPS returned a picture of a bolt and hanger which filled an 8 1/2" x 11" paper. It asked, "you don't want these big things hanging all over your mountain cliffs, do you? The Filipino authorities decided right then and there to ban rock climbing in their country....sad, cuz there is a lot of rock there, too!//All karst limestone.

Ryan, actually, those pitons you mention out at Ibex, well normally I don't leave many pins fixed and that was just blue spray paint!!! That is how I mark them.

thanks for the opinions, I will keep on spraying!....for the most part!

Dave Budge wrote:For really shiny hangers and anchors, try applying 2 - 3 coats of Rust-Oleum Automobile Primer in a color that matches the stone.

Actually, folks probably shouldn't be using oil based primer and/or top coat directly on zinc plated hardware. It "soap-a-fies". The paint won't stick (or doesn't stick as well, to be sure).

You need to instead use something along the lines of the Rust-o-leum primer that is for zinc plated and/or aluminum surfaces (and I think its water based, so, clean up is a snap). Then apply a top coat over that.

Which is why the stainless is nice. They naturally get a bit of a haze on them, which makes them blend in nicely with any granite or light colored rock, and, they take most paints and primers much better.

I paint most all of my hangers, and bolt heads too. Sometimes I add a shot of high vis yellow to the bottom view of the hanger so they can be better seen from below.

Just a teeny bit of effort can really make a difference. And, especially in sensitive areas where the land managers and the general public might not like to see that fixed hardware, out of sight, out of mind. Arrow Canyon Nevada (which I visited over the Thanksgiving weekend) is a prime example. Had folks been lower impact in there, who knows? Maybe new routes could still go up. But not any more.

When someone used zinc plated hardware at Castle Rock in Idaho, you could see it from the parking lot, at least a mile away, glinting in the sun.

Be nice to send a bunch of hardware in for some industrial coating. I've seen chain and hangers that have been professionally coated and the coating really seems to last (not to mention look low impact). Chain and rapides especially.

Cheers.

I don't like painted hangers, b/c if I am going to a new area, they are hard to find. I think it is great that us climbers are thinking about the impact on others in the area, but when hikers themselves are carving names into Aspen trees, what will they care about shiny bolts for?

I know that it is not the majority of hikers (I hike too), but as far as distractions go, tree carving is a much bigger, damaging issue. Leave the bolts shiny!

Hangers/chain painted at home or at crag are tacky and often chip and peel given the shoddy paint job. I'd say do it right and purchase the factory painted camo hardware or don't paint your SS hangers (as they are fairly dull and blend in well w/ granite and most rock types). Plated steel is a different story, I would only use this hardware (due to the shiny surface) in remote areas where foot traffic is limited to mostly climbers.

My preference is always for camo fixed gear.

Rather than painting chains, try using self rusting chains without the shiny coating. Paint flakes off, but the rust is permanent. The rust rate is relatively slow relative to the thickness of the links so durability is not an issue. This type of chain is available only in a few hardware stores and you have to search for it. Before using it, run it through a dishwasher to remove the oil from the manufacturing process, then if you want let it sit in your yard for a couple months.

I started painting bolt heads, hangers and chains about 6 months ago. I don't care myself about seeing fixed hardware on the rock (unless it is done poorly), but I started doing it so as to have as little effect on access as possible.
I just read the last two posts and had to change this around a little bit. It probably is best to go with SS hardware because it does seem to dull and blend in fairly well with most rock types. The plated hardware is super shiny and can be very visible especially in direct sun from long distances. I agree that homemade paint jobs are not as good because the paint does chip away, but I do quite a bit of route establishment and anchor replacement(with my own money) on routes I feel are becoming dangerous and there is no way I could afford to buy the pre-painted hangers. Plus, a pre-painted hanger doesn't do much good when a shiny bolt head is sitting in the middle of it.
So I just do the best paint job I can and try to place fixed hardware where it is not very visible to the general public, but still works well for the climber.

Kent Pease wrote:Rather than painting chains, try using self rusting chains without the shiny coating.

Those rust streaks look terrible. Which is why a bunch of chain in LCC is getting replaced. Plus, believe it or not, rust streaks killing sensitive plant life is on the land managers' radar in some areas.

Don't soak it in vinegar (to remove the zinc plating). Just rusts even faster.

Rust-o-leum makes a zinc coating compatable spray-on primer. Then topcoat. Give it enough time to dry, then, spray on some more.

Folks have been powder coating stuff too, with great success. Seems to last a lot longer and less prone to chipping. I'd rather see chipped chain than shiny chain.

Yeah, some of the stainless hangers dull up fairly quickly, but, some (the Faders in particular, but also some 400 series stuff I've seen from Italy) is really shiny. Mad Rock hangers seem pretty dull out of the box. Stainless holds homemade paint jobs much better than plated. And, its easy to do (and cheap).

There's places, some remote, where if only climbers had camo'd their bolts...that maybe we'd still be enjoying new routing or climbing. Out of sight, out of mind.

One thing I've wondered about and I'll toss it out there for folks to comment on, is, brass/bronze (or brass colored) chain. Pretty dull colored. Doesn't seem to rust terribly quickly. Should be strong enough if its thick enough. Hmmmm?

As Brian said, there's places, some remote, where if only climbers had camo'd their bolts....and Im sorry to say in my case they would not have been shot to pieces.
I will allways spray them now tacky or not. I do spray with the bolt attached so head blends in.

I think the major issue is the location of the crag/area and past history. American Fork/Rifle who cares, certain desert/wild locales are more of a delicate issue for sure.