rusted rims

[jsomedaysoon]

i live at the beach and the air itself has enough salt in it to rust pretty much everything. i drive on the beach alot and my rims are waisting away to nothing. can i just sand them and paint them? i'd like to see them the same color tan as my top i think.

 

[Broncobill78]

Yes, you can. A couple suggestions though. I'd take the trouble to sandblast them instead of just sanding the rust spots and once you have them down to bare metal I'd hit the entire rim with a rust converter to chemically treat the whole thing & take care of any rust that you're not able to see with the ***** eye. Once that's done use a good quality primer, paint them with an *epoxy* paint and be sure to clear coat them. As long as the rust hasn't compromised the rim anywhere then that should pretty much bulletproof them for a good 8-10 yrs or more. Using that same process I've had basic run of the mill steel wagon wheels last almost 15yrs without showing ANY signs of rust and this was in central New England. The epoxy paint is really the key to making it last, I also use eposy paint for frames & running gear and the stuff is just fantastic.

 

[crazyhorse85]

BB78 HAS THE RIGHT IDEA ...YOU CAN ALSO USE A GOOD ETCHING PRIMER IT ADHERES TO THE BARE METAL REALLY WELL AND BONDS GOOD WITH EPOXY OR JUST ABOUT ANY PAINT AND WON'T COUNTER ACT WITH THE RUST CONVERTER...WE USE IT IN OUR BODYSHOP HERE AT THE DEALERSHIP FOR ALOT OF SPOT REPAIRS LIKE DOORS,FENDERS ECT...

 

[Tennessee Jed]

If you are going to take them off and sand blast you might consider having them powder coated the price is coming down on the process. There is a guy here in Knoxville who said he would do a simple set of rims for $100. He does entire car and truck frames as well, man that would be nice for rust and chip resistance.

 

[Broncobill78]

That's an excellent point. I hadn't even thought about powder coating them (and I have a powder coating rig out in the shop <grin&gt the cost would be competative with haveing them shot in epoxy so I'd definately look into it.

 

[jsomedaysoon]

That's an excellent point. I hadn't even thought about powder coating them (and I have a powder coating rig out in the shop <grin&gt the cost would be competative with haveing them shot in epoxy so I'd definately look into it.

awesome! i was thinking about the epoxy paint i'm glad you all confirmed it. that price for the powder coating did that include prep? if so then thats a beautiful thing. does any body shop do that do you think? as far as that etching primer you were talking about or the rust converting primer, where do you pick that up at i dont remember seeing it at any of the auto shops around here. thanks.

 

[Broncobill78]

Unfortunately powdercoating prices vary widely. Fact is that it's not all that expensive to do and what someone charges is going to be based on what he thinks the market will bear. If you have an old electric stove then you can powdercoat your own rims for the $100 cost of a kit + powder. Is it worth $500 to do a set of 4-rims ? Not for me to answer. I know it's not cheap to have a body shop blast & paint 4 rims but it's cheaper than buying a new set, especially if they'll last 10-15yrs. Again, not my decision to make. The rust prep is often called Naval jelly or Rust Prep and is available at most parts stores. It chemically converts rusted steel into iron oxide and seals it. Once it's sanded, primed & painted I've yet to see it come back.

 

[madmax]

you might find it cheaper to get another set of plain steel rims, try local junkyard then epoxy the **** out of them, If you can get them powder coated cheap enough then go for it, should last near forever then, dunno if they can do the bead area with it or if it'd mess something up.

 

[jsomedaysoon]

you might find it cheaper to get another set of plain steel rims, try local junkyard then epoxy the **** out of them, If you can get them powder coated cheap enough then go for it, should last near forever then, dunno if they can do the bead area with it or if it'd mess something up.

wow thats a lot to think about. in a perfect world i would like to see the rims the same tan color as my camper top but i'm not kidding myself this is NO show truck so i dont want to go to fancy. i guess i will just have to make some calls and see whats available locally. i did find a kit on ebay thats intended to paint brake calipers. but they were like 30 dollars for the kit and i'd probably have to buy four of them.

 

[4WHEELIN]

my friend used spray paint on his f-150's wheels, it don't look bad from far away but close up it looks like spray paint.

 

[madmax]

You could also just have them sandblasted then just epoxy primer them yourself, if you put it on heavy like with a roller you'll have a really tough coating rivaling powder coating for durability, about the best you can do short of having them galvanized.

 

[jsomedaysoon]

You could also just have them sandblasted then just epoxy primer them yourself, if you put it on heavy like with a roller you'll have a really tough coating rivaling powder coating for durability, about the best you can do short of having them galvanized.

that brings up a good point. at my work we have this galvanized spray paint that we spray the end of bolts that we cut off so they dont rust. i sprayed my spare just to see what it looked like and you know it didnt look to bad.

 

[madmax]

try scratchin at it with your fingernail

 

[Broncobill78]

wow thats a lot to think about. in a perfect world i would like to see the rims the same tan color as my camper top but i'm not kidding myself this is NO show truck so i dont want to go to fancy. i guess i will just have to make some calls and see whats available locally. i did find a kit on ebay thats intended to paint brake calipers. but they were like 30 dollars for the kit and i'd probably have to buy four of them.

Take a stroll thru the Eastwood Company's website/catalog. They have all sorts of great stuff for doing this sort of thing.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/