# Re-finishing rusty steel wheels?



## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Anyone have any actual experience re-painting rusty steel wheels? I have separate winter & summer tires & rims (Hyundai Elantra). My winter wheels were getting pretty rusty & ugly, so before i put them on the car this past winter I sanded them down & spray-painted them with a can of black Krylon paint from Walmart (no primer). Lasted about 2 weeks & they looked worse than ever!
So I want to do it RIGHT this time.There are all sorts of how-to videos on youtube. just like to hear from any forum-ers who might have some practical advice. Thanks.


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

I would have thought the Krylon Dual Paint & Primer would have lasted. It is designed for the type of thing you describe (but several coats of course because of abuse from sand and salt). I can only suggest trying competitor products like Tremclad. The key thing is to get several coats over a period of days since a single (or even two) spray coats is ultra thin.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

it WASN'T the Dual Paint & Primer product


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

Prep rims with wire brush, by hand or with an electric (much easier) tool then apply two thin coats of Tremclad rust paint with a brush.
The better the prep work the longer it'll last.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

cainvest said:


> Prep rims with wire brush, by hand or with an electric (much easier) tool then apply two thin coats of Tremclad rust paint with a brush.
> The better the prep work the longer it'll last.


so... you've done this,cainvest? no primer - just paint? and, with a brush- not spray on,eh? interesting.


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## carverman (Nov 8, 2010)

Rusted chrome wheels. Been there. Once the rust gets established, it is hard to keep them from rusting, especially if they get wet. 

Most paints will not stick to chrome for very long without sanding or steel wool the hell out of the chrome. It's a lot of work to sand the rims.


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## cainvest (May 1, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> so... you've done this,cainvest? no primer - just paint? and, with a brush- not spray on,eh? interesting.


Yup, worked out well except where I did bad prep, left some rust flakes here and there because I was in a rush. 
I think its much easier by brush if you have tires on the rims, just be careful and you don't need to mask anything off.
Also that Tremclad rust paint doesn't require primer.


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## praire_guy (Sep 8, 2011)

Phone some local sandblast companies. 

In Winnipeg there is a company that will blast your wheels for 10 bucks each. They use glass beads that bounce off rubber so you don't have to take the tire off. 

40 bucks for a job that'll be better than you can ever ever do by hand , and in a split fraction of the time, and we have a no brainer.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

carverman said:


> Rusted chrome wheels. Been there. Once the rust gets established, it is hard to keep them from rusting, especially if they get wet.
> 
> Most paints will not stick to chrome for very long without sanding or steel wool the hell out of the chrome. It's a lot of work to sand the rims.


Mine aren't chrome - just your basic steel wheels.


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

Buy wheel covers instead.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> Mine aren't chrome - just your basic steel wheels.


Once you have rust on steel, no normal paint will last for long. You can fix those rims, but maybe first compare cost with a new set of rims (about 4x$50=$200plus tax)?. Sandblasting, applying a proper primer then overcoating with several coats of black enamel might cost less? But still quite a bit. 

What I would do, is wire brush rims as best as you can. Then go to NAPA and buy some DOM16 paint. This is similar to another product POR-15. POR stands for Paint Over Rust and you can literally do that. It sticks to anything and ecapsulates any remaining rust. Apply 2 coats. (wear gloves!) Then apply a final enamel finish. My rims are all alloy, but I have done underbody and other parts of actual car using DOM/POR. Parts painted 25 years ago are still good.


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## Mukhang pera (Feb 26, 2016)

AltaRed said:


> I would have thought the Krylon Dual Paint & Primer would have lasted. It is designed for the type of thing you describe (but several coats of course because of abuse from sand and salt). I can only suggest trying competitor products like Tremclad. The key thing is to get several coats over a period of days since a single (or even two) spray coats is ultra thin.



I have not had any experience with Tremclad for many years, but long ago it was advertised in positive terms such as "paint right over rust". I tried it both ways - painting right over and also painting after sanding off the rust. I recall the results as disappointing, even on things such as metal lawn furniture, that would take much less of a beating than wheels. The rust always re-emerged in fairly short order. Perhaps it has improved.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Spudd said:


> Buy wheel covers instead.


Yes, going to do that too!


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

agent99 said:


> Once you have rust on steel, no normal paint will last for long. You can fix those rims, but maybe first compare cost with a new set of rims (about 4x$50=$200plus tax)?. Sandblasting, applying a proper primer then overcoating with several coats of black enamel might cost less? But still quite a bit.
> 
> What I would do, is wire brush rims as best as you can. Then go to NAPA and buy some DOM16 paint. This is similar to another product POR-15. POR stands for Paint Over Rust and you can literally do that. It sticks to anything and ecapsulates any remaining rust. Apply 2 coats. (wear gloves!) Then apply a final enamel finish. My rims are all alloy, but I have done underbody and other parts of actual car using DOM/POR. Parts painted 25 years ago are still good.


thanks 99. Please clarify: do i need primer after wire-brushing? and do i use the DOM or the POR product- or both?


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> thanks 99. Please clarify: do i need primer after wire-brushing? and do i use the DOM or the POR product- or both?


No primer needed. Just clean up the wheels and make sure they are oil/grease free. No need to remove hard rust - just the flaky stuff. If part of surface is smooth metal, it needs to be roughened up with course grade sandpaper or sandblasted otherwise adhesion won't be good. DOM16 is cheaper that POR15 so that is what I have been using. DOM is resistant to UV light and POR is not. If you are going to use wheel covers, no need to overcoat DOM16. Otherwise follow instructions for overcoating: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am2xY2Vna-k. 

Wheelcovers may be the best idea!


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

the winter wheels are after-market, and the original wheel covers that came on the car don't seem to fit properly, so i have to leave them off when i put on the winter wheels. i hope i can find a set of "hubcaps" to use over the winter wheels?


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## Spudd (Oct 11, 2011)

jargey3000 said:


> the winter wheels are after-market, and the original wheel covers that came on the car don't seem to fit properly, so i have to leave them off when i put on the winter wheels. i hope i can find a set of "hubcaps" to use over the winter wheels?


You shouldn't have a problem. Most of those cheap wheel covers are designed to be used with these plain old rims such as you probably have for your winter tires. We got a set at Amazon for quite cheap, and they look pretty good on the car. We got the ones we could find with the most coverage to protect the rims from future rusting.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

We have snows on one car. I searched kijiji and eventually found a complete set of allow wheel with snows installed for $400. Tires were worn about 25%. Car actually looks sharper with these alloys than the originals! There are lots of similar deals on kijiji - people sell or trade or come off lease, but keep the winter tires, then sell to get a few more $$ out of their cars.


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Problem is that salt really does a number on alloy rims.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

agent99 said:


> We have snows on one car. I searched kijiji and eventually found a complete set of allow wheel with snows installed for $400. Tires were worn about 25%. Car actually looks sharper with these alloys than the originals! There are lots of similar deals on kijiji - people sell or trade or come off lease, but keep the winter tires, then sell to get a few more $$ out of their cars.


nothing really to do with my thread (maybe i should start another one  ), but re kijiji: I've bought & re-sold a few guitars on kijiji & made money enough on the re-selling, that the 2 (low-end) guitars i have now (one electric and one a-cue-stick) have actually cost me zero dollars!


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

andrewf said:


> Problem is that salt really does a number on alloy rims.


It is possible to get some pitting although we have not seen that on our cars. But, if buying a used set, it is something to check before buying. If a good used set of alloys costs no more than a new steel set, I would go with alloys any day. It amazes me how Canadians seem content to drive around with those awful, mostly rusted, steel rims. When we spend winter in USA, the Canadian visitors stand out like a sore thumb! 

PS: We have owned our 85 for 26 years. Now has 430k km and still original painted alloy rims used year round. No corrosion. Maybe they used better alloys back then. Our 98 with less mileage has alloy summer and winter rims, no pitting. At one time, we owned a Chev truck that did see a lot of winter use. It's alloys did show some minor pitting when we sold it after 11 years.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

_PS: We have owned our 85 for 26 years. _
Good Lord! you obviously don't live in NL! (but my mother's/sister's '99 corolla is still going strong ... (only 48k on it, garage-stored)


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## LBCfan (Jan 13, 2011)

agent99 said:


> PS: We have owned our 85 for 26 years.


Welcome to 2011. Hope you enjoy your stay. Everyone is welcome here but please lock your time machines, we are losing our young people to the past through TM theft.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

LBCfan said:


> Welcome to 2011. Hope you enjoy your stay. Everyone is welcome here but please lock your time machines, we are losing our young people to the past through TM theft.


(maybe they bought it when it was 5 years old?)


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## andrewf (Mar 1, 2010)

Maybe they bought their 86 in 91.


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## lonewolf (Jun 12, 2012)

andrewf said:


> Problem is that salt really does a number on alloy rims.


 Also a lot of times shops will exchange tires/rims putting old tire/rims in plastic bags to help keep the car clean from dirty tires. If rims are wet with salt or without salt then left in plastic bags over the summer its not going to be good. Take tires out of the plastic bags wash off & store in dry place out of weather.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

_What I would do, is wire brush rims as best as you can. Then go to NAPA and buy some DOM16 paint. This is similar to another product POR-15. POR stands for Paint Over Rust _

does "DOM" stand for anything???


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

LBCfan said:


> Welcome to 2011. Hope you enjoy your stay. Everyone is welcome here but please lock your time machines, we are losing our young people to the past through TM theft.


Not too smart eh? The others nailed it. I bought that car in 1990 actually.


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> _What I would do, is wire brush rims as best as you can. Then go to NAPA and buy some DOM16 paint. This is similar to another product POR-15. POR stands for Paint Over Rust _
> 
> does "DOM" stand for anything???



Just the name they chose (Company is Dominion Sure Seal)



> PS: We have owned our 85 for 26 years.
> Good Lord! you obviously don't live in NL!


Believe me, this car has had rust, but it has always been repaired. Car was repainted once and currently looks great. No rust anywhere, at present.


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## camrich (Apr 14, 2016)

Yep I would always take the alloys over the steel for us Canadians, always have done, even if it means paying a fair bit more. Quite a few of my friends buy used, and always would over having new/used steel rims. Easy to find with a few clicks on this site..
http://www.canada.for-sale.com/


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

Have done this many times. Don't make it more complicated than it is.

Easiest to do with the rims off the car. So do your summer rims now and the winter rims after you change them.

Rub down with coarse steel wool. Just take off loose rust and paint flakes. You don't have to get down to bare metal, rust and old paint is fine. Tip: wear rubber gloves or leather gloves to protect your hands.

Blow clean with compressed air or wipe with a rag. If there is any oil or grease, clean off with a rag and some paint thinner.

Paint with 3 coats of Tremclad black using a brush. I find it takes too long to mask the tire if you spray paint. It is quicker and easier to brush paint. An excellent, very tough semi gloss paint is Tremclad barbecue paint. No primer required but you must use rust paint, either Tremclad or the cheaper store brand. It reacts chemically with the rust to make a permanent bond. 

Semi gloss or flat black if you are using hubcaps. If you have plain wheels with no hubcaps, paint them silver or aluminum.

Done this way they will go 5 years or more without rusting. If they do get some rust spots give them a quick rub with steel wool and paint them again. One quart of paint will paint all 4 wheels 3 coats, and most of the quart left over.

The paint seems to thicken over time. If it is not a fresh can just thin with a little paint thinner.

I don't even bother washing the brush, just buy a cheap brush at the dollar store for a $1 buck and throw it away when you are done. Pro tip: between coats put the brush in a plastic grocery bag with a few drops of thinner and it won't dry out.

Wear rubber gloves to keep your hands clean.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

Thanks "rusty". i think I'm gonna try just that! (ps- I already knew that tip... does that make me a "pro"? :biggrin: )


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## agent99 (Sep 11, 2013)

jargey3000 said:


> Thanks "rusty". i think I'm gonna try just that! (ps- I already knew that tip... does that make me a "pro"? :biggrin: )


If you go that route, hopefully you won't keep car long enough to have to do them again. They will probably last for a year or two before the rust comes through again. By the way, the BBQ paint isn't a bad idea - the rims do get hot from braking and that too accelerates rusting.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

I used some black barbecue paint once because I happened to have it handy. It seems to be a lot tougher than regular paint and has a nice semi gloss finish like the factory finish on most wheels.

Another time I was missing a couple of hubcaps so I painted the wheels silver. To fill the hole in the middle I found that a small yogurt container fit neatly so I used 4 of them, painted silver. I also had a set of chrome wheel nuts, when it was done it looked good.


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## Rusty O'Toole (Feb 1, 2012)

agent99 said:


> If you go that route, hopefully you won't keep car long enough to have to do them again. They will probably last for a year or two before the rust comes through again. By the way, the BBQ paint isn't a bad idea - the rims do get hot from braking and that too accelerates rusting.


If you give them 2 or 3 coats they will stay rust free longer than that. One coat is not enough, 2 coats minimum for complete protection, 3 is better. Thin the paint a bit for best penetration if you do 3 coats. I would say 5 years minimum if you do 3 coats.


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## jargey3000 (Jan 25, 2011)

can you get the BBQ paint in a can (to brush-paint)? I've only seen it in spray can?


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