Best way to remove inner wheel corrosion?

cjperry81 · Aug 21, 2012

I was unlacing my 50's Evans wheels today and one I got what I believe to be the original tires off there was a ton of corrosion on the inside of the wheels. This is common I would assume in these old things. The wheels dont appear to be compromised because there is no rust that is all the way through in any area. What is the best way to attack this stuff? Soak it? Dremel the crap out? Just primer over it? This is my first build so I would appreciate the help.

jackdaw · Aug 21, 2012

I ran a wire brush HARD on mine, to get it down to bare metal, then just oiled it. It's been 5 months, I think, and it's not gotten any worse.

I used a 2 1/2" steel wire brush in my drill motor, it burnished it right down to dark shininess.

gcrank1 · Aug 24, 2012

As said, get as much of the crust off, then give it several coats of that rust neutralizing stuff (I used Rustoleum Rust Reformer, I bought a brush on can at WallyWorld). You need to make sure that no rough areas will chaff your tube, so along with the rim strip you might have to Duct or Elec. Tape.
The big problem is that you cant see inside the (often) dbl. wall of the rim were it is also rusting. Once spokes start pulling through or the inside collapses you'll know its time to upgrade.

CycleTruck · Aug 24, 2012

2nd on the wire brush on a wheel to bare metal.

If it's pitted metal, I've used Rust Mort (the rust neutralizer mentioned above) but lately I've been using Rustoleum Rusty Metal Primer then any Rustoleum color that I have laying around, just to use it up.