How about these dirty steelies?

[dekeman]

Ok, I`ve picked your brains about the rust, now how about these wheels?







I want to sand and repaint the little trapezoid-shaped areas of rust. They`re a result of these wheel covers:







The problem is the rest of the damage/rust/embedded brake dust on the wheel. I`ve used Eagle 1 A2Z on the tires and wheels to get rid of the worst of it. The tires look 200% better now, but I can`t seem to break down that brown residue on the wheels, especially in the recessed groove around the edge. A lot of it was broken up with a coarse spoke brush agitating the A2Z (look at the wheel center around the lugs- you can clearly see where the brush didn`t get), and then going to the car shampoo, but I`d like to get in that groove to get them totally clean before I sand and repaint the problem spots (I`ll likely just sand the rust off, rough up the rest of the area around the holes and repaint just that with some Krylon RustTough gloss black). I think a wire brush would just make things worse by being too abrasive and stripping the actual paint off. Any ideas? Am I totally OCD?

[imported_wagonproject]

If your just trying to do it on a budget I would just take the wheels off the car, sand the rust down with 80 grit and then the rim with some 180, 220 if needed. Sand what rust you can around the edge. I would just wire brush that groove, your not going to make it worse as it can only get rust and stuff out. Then throw some Rustoleum Brown primer on them and then some Gloss black.



To get it really off you would need to take the rim to a shop and have them media blasted and then painted. I sand blast a ton semi wheels weekly and that groove sucks to get clean. Especially on rims that are powdercoated as its a slow moving process.

[dekeman]

Would the Rustoleum primer retard any more rust? The Krylon spray is a rust-inhibiting paint that says it doesn`t require a primer. I`ve also got some rust dissolving gel that I`ll put on there after the sanding job to eliminate as much as possible before painting. I want it to look smooth and new under those wheel covers. I`m gonna get out as much rust and dirt from that groove as I can, then possibly mask that area so I`m not painting over whatever crap is left down there. Then call it a day. This van is getting to be too much work! It`s hard enough just keeping them clean!!!!!!!

[Domas]

I would take the wheel off, and take the rust off using wire brush on grinder, a little messy, but you`ll be able to clean the wheel to bare metal quickly. Then before painting, you can use `Hammerite Kurust` to kill/neutralize the invisible residual traces of rust.



Or you could try a DIY "Elecrolytic rust removal" trick, here`s how-to:

Electrolytic Rust Removal

[Accumulator]

Instead of the Rustoleum primer, I`d use Eastwood`s Rust Encapsulator. Then top *that* with some decent satin-finish black (not gloss).



IME the Rust Encapsulator can work astoundingly well, even compared to other such products that area better-known (e.g., POR-15).



Eh..I`d buy the Rust Encapsulator and the paint both from Eastwood Company: Auto Tools, Body Repair, Classic Car Restoration, Paint Guns, Powder Coating, Soda Blasters, Fender Rollers . Yeah, it`s worth it.