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Post by Alan F. on May 3, 2018 21:38:13 GMT -5
Spoked wheels, we all know what they're all about, spokes and a rim hoop. But what do you do when you're sick of them rusting away? Do you just ship them off to California and write a check, or do you get your hands dirty and learn a thing or three?
This thread will detail a very simple solution for rust removal, and what to do afterward to keep rust from returning.
Stay Tuned!
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Post by Alan F. on Jun 11, 2018 10:46:01 GMT -5
I've finally got a minute to continue with this thread, sorry i took so long. I've got a few partsbikes around with spoked wheels, and as we all know once the tire is off rust is usually found around the rim circumference. The first part of this experiment was to remove this rust along with any other rust that is forming on the exposed surfaces of the rim through scratches or pits in the chrome surface. I built this simple machine to slowly rotate the rim while it soaks in a shallow pool of regular 5% white vinegar.  It's just an AC timing motor turning an axle with a large foam roller upon which the rim rests. As the timing motor turns, the rim slowly rotates and makes one revolution about every 5 minutes. Here are some before and after shots of the first rim I tried this on:  And after:  |
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Post by Alan F. on Jun 11, 2018 10:59:40 GMT -5
I just let it run for 24 hours, then gently scrubbed all surfaces with common green 3m scotchbrite and set the wheel back for another 24 hours. Thats why the rim is inverted in the second pic, i think this is after 48 hours and i ran it a total of 3 days. The yellowish areas I initially mistook for brass for their color, they are actually the copper plated layer beneath the chrome. Here's that same spot after a full 72 hours.  |
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Post by Alan F. on Jun 11, 2018 11:31:31 GMT -5
Initially the other side of the rim looked ok with no appreciable rust to speak of, but after a while in the vinegar it became painfully obvious that a previous owner had cleaned this rim with steel wool which left some scratches through the chrome into the copper layer.  In the end the rim looked like this, and I had lots of glittering chrome flakes at the bottom of the now brown-colored vinegar.  |
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Post by Alan F. on Jun 16, 2018 18:28:52 GMT -5
The next step was to make sure rust wouldn't come back, paint or powder coat are good options but I opted to DIY zinc electroplate instead. I'd already done the spokes and nipples and some other items, so armed with a working knowledge of the process I adapted my de-rusting setup for plating.
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Post by Alan F. on Jun 16, 2018 18:40:39 GMT -5
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Post by Alan F. on Jun 16, 2018 19:08:14 GMT -5
Here's my plated rim, it plated pretty thick in about six hours on the rotisserie.   I didn't want to keep the uneven battleship gray so I hand polished it out with Mother's mag polish.   It worked alright and wasn't too tough, the zinc did fill in the areas that were rusty and they still stand out. To see how well this finish stands up to the weather, I left this wheel outside in the rain for a few days in a row, we got an inch and a half of rain over 3 days. And this was the result:  Zinc oxide, aka white rust. It polishes off very easily, but who cares! Eventually with enough neglect this rim will start to rust again as the zinc is slowly washed away, but that may take decades. |
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