Rust developing around spoke welds
 

How much of an issue is it for a small amount of rust to be developing around the point where some of the spokes are welded to the inner hub and also the outer rim of a powder coated 1930-31 original wheel? I believe this might have been caused by a small amount of flexing causing the powder coating to have tiny cracks which allowed moisture to enter and form rust. If this isn't a safety issue I intend to use a Q-tip soaked in Corroseal and dab it onto the rust. This will convert the rust to a stable paintable surface. I will then get a small amount of touch-up paint mixed to match the wheel color (medium cream looks like the closest match according to the Paint & Finish Guide) and using a small artist brush paint just where necessary.

Thanks
Dave

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

There's your problem. The wheels were powder coated. There's no corrosion protection under power coating so rust is starting to form under the powder coat. All you need is a split for the moisture to get under the powder coat and away it goes. It's hard to find a powder-coater that will use the epoxy primer powder coat before they apply the colour.

Your fix will make things look ok for a while.

John Poole

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

Tap on the rusted spokes with a small hammer and compare the sound to spokes that are not rusted. I had 3 spokes on one wheel that the weld between the spokes and the out rim had broken loose.

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

I have had a lot of spoke wheels powder coated and not had that problem. prep have a lot to do with the finish product. also powder coating does NOT like any sharp edges or maybe they didn`t put enough powder on them.

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

FWIW:

Just one (1) experience with a gentleman who does powder coating.

Had five (5) of my 19" Model A wire wheels sand blasted, cleaned, primed with epoxy primer, and powder coated by an experienced shop owner for $80.00 per wheel.

Priming with epoxy primer was recommended by him because of our high humidity in our coastal area.

Just in case anyone is thinking about powder coating Model A wire wheels, (in an area that has high humidity), John in reply no. 2 is making an excellent point to consider; i.e., sealing all of the bare metal under the powder coating prior to providing the powder coating ..... or possibly wind up with unsightly and harmful rust forming under the powder coating.

Never a bad idea to get work done by experienced people who do this kind of work every day, and by people who have had several years of experience.

So what if it cost a little more, removing rust and cleaning wheels a second time is never worth it.

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

Rust around the spokes on a powder coated wheel is not uncommon. In your position, I'd kill the rust and seal it (after making sure no spokes were detached). There are plenty of penetrating converter/sealers on the market. Then I'd touch it up with an artist's brush as you described.

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

From my experience, if there is rust developing around a spoke, that means the spoke is moving on the wheel hub/rim. As it has moved, this allowed the paint to crack or separate, and now air & moisture are creeping in which is allowing rust to form. The only real way to correct this is to drill a hole on the backside of the hub/rim where you get access to the end of the spoke. Then TIG weld the spoke thru the drilled hole so that it won't move. Touch-up paint accordingly.

Re: Rust developing around spoke welds
 

That would be the Rolls Royce of repairs for this.