Steel Rim refurb...

[kbushnz]

Hi Yah All.

Refurbishing some steelies.. For my Club Truck....
They have a bit of surface pitting that has been exposed after a bead blast but otherwise good.

After Pro's / Con's

Blast and paint.
Blast and powder coat.
Blast and Galvanise.

Heading the Galvanising path at present.

Cheap, long lasting, not worried about colour.

Any thing I should be weary off???

Calvin

[Ralfie]

my preferences has been to sand/bead blast and then get zinc coated. To finish a good hardwearing paint.
Also easier to touch up later if required.

Powder coating good until it gets chipped and water started to get under the coating.

[oldblue]

You don't want a real shiny surface where the tyre sits , to easy for the bead to come unstuck when useing low tyre pressures.

[mudlva]

blast and galv
best long term answer

[rotordogg]

Talking to the powder coater we use for work, Powdercoat doesn't stick that well to galv...

Unfortunatly he didn't mention that till after he did my galv bumper's! Ah well, I got them done cheap anyway!!

[kbushnz]

Galvanising is pretty cheap, been quoted 1.70 plus gst per kg with a $30 setup / min charge.

Wheels now bead blasted clean of paint. Need to weld up valve hole and drill a bigger one for the tractor tubes.

And was thinking about running a weld around the joint where the center fits into the rim. That groove that some wheel manufacturers fill with silicone.

Will make it stronger ?

Calvin

[mudlva]

good idea but becarefull that you dont weld for to long and start to distort the rims with to much heat 3 or 4 spots well apart and only weld for 30mm or so at a time letting the rim completely cool before doing the next welds dont worry if the welds dont quite meet as the galv will fill any voids that are left

galv is still the best and easiest answer
note that once galved no more welding can be done so do every thing that you want to do now

[tgaguy1]

Galvanising is pretty cheap, been quoted 1.70 plus gst per kg with a $30 setup / min charge.

Wheels now bead blasted clean of paint. Need to weld up valve hole and drill a bigger one for the tractor tubes.

And was thinking about running a weld around the joint where the center fits into the rim. That groove that some wheel manufacturers fill with silicone.

Will make it stronger ?

Calvin

That groove is already one of the strongest parts of the wheel. The weak point is the area around the lug nut holes. They crack from the wheel flexing and shock loading transmitted from driving the wheel. By welding up the groove you are subjecting the steel to heat for no gain. Filling with sealant would achieve the same result without the exposure to heat. A urethane sealant/adhesive will out last the paint or coating applied to the wheel.

Just my 2c

Jase.