Wheels..

barberochris · Jul 22, 2008

I originally was going to paint my steel wheels black. Well, I was using a wire wheel on a drill to clean off the old gray paint and little bit of rust, and as I got down to the bare metal, I (and the wife) decided that we liked that look instead. I was going to leave the lines left from the wire wheel and not try to sand those out. Then I cleaned the wheel to get rid of the fine dust and other debri with some brake clean, which also helped in removing some paint that the wires couldn't reach. After that, since I didn't want the wheel to rust, I went over it with a number of light coats of Rust-Oleum clear spray paint. Now to the problem at hand. I left the wheel outside over night (nowhere else to put it) and just from the morning dew it showed some light rust. Now today it is raining so I'm sure the rust is just going to get worse. The rust is not that big of a deal though, just more work. What I need advice on is what I need to do or did wrong to protect the bare metal. Or do I need to go ahead with my original plan of painting them black. I have a couple pictures of before and after and I can take a picture of the one "finished" wheel that has begun to rust if that would help anyone. Will post later tonight if they will help (they aren't loaded on the computer right now). Thanks for your time. -CB

Unkl Ian · Jul 22, 2008

Maybe clear Powdercoat,or Gibb's.

donsrods · Jul 22, 2008

My Son and I just talked about this........his new roadster body looks great in bare metal, but it rusts in about 5 minutes with the humidity here in Florida. Just touching it produces rust instantly almost.

There is no clear treatment I know of that will adhere to bare metal and keep it from rusting. Even Jimmy Shines truck that is in bare steel requires him to wipe it down with WD 40 and a scotchbrite pad almost daily to keep it looking good. We are working on the inside of my Sons car right now and had to wipe it down with Picklex 20 and put blue masking tape all over the areas where we were touching it because of rust forming right away.

I know it looks cool, but I don't think you would like the upkeep required.

Don

Unkl Ian · Jul 22, 2008

Most clear powder coat is actually slightly Amber,
but there are supposed to be some that are water clear.

Tripper · Jul 22, 2008

Flash rust

donsrods said:
My Son and I just talked about this........his new roadster body looks great in bare metal, but it rusts in about 5 minutes with the humidity here in Florida. Just touching it produces rust instantly almost.

Flash rust is a major deal here in H-town too. You gots ta prime rat away or...

Bandit Ls-1 · Jul 22, 2008

when i was at wyotech i did a fender n i d/a it to bare metal with 320grit to get it pretty smooth then i put some black flames over the bare metal and then finished it with a clear coat. it cam out pretty good and the clear was sticking but i was told clear on bare metal chips easier than if it was over paint and primer.