Painting Steel Wheels

[grantstew8]

I'm thinking of repainting the steel wheels that came on the trailer.

Rather than take them sandblasted and powder coated, I was going to use a wire brush (on a drill) and prime them with a rustoleum primer and then paint them the same colour as the TD.
The paint I'm going to use is an exterior paint

This means the wheels will match the TD colour exactly. I'm keeping the TD in a garage and will only really be exposed to the "outside world" when we're camping.

Any hints, tips or comments?

Thanks

Grant

[KCStudly]

You can wear a drill out pretty quick using a cup brush, so be aware that it will be hard on your hand drill. A pneumatic die grinder is better but you need to keep the rpm down.

Also, the places that are hardest to get to are the most important. Degrease well beforehand. For really nasty road grim I like to use Lestoil (diluted slightly with water) and a stiff bristle brush. Rinse well after. It will strip the grease out of anything, and whatever crud it may leave behind in the nooks and crannies will be powder dry and easy to flake/crumble off. Though it won't fix rust.

Blasting really is the best way to prep steel wheels, IMO, but you can still get a pretty good result depending on the condition of the wheels.

[Woodbutcher]

My wheels came white and were new, so I was not dealing with any rust or pealing paint. O scuffed sanded then with #320 grit till all the paint was flat dull. Blew them off with compressed air and then wiped them down with Denatured Alcohol. After they were dry I sprayed then with a rattle can of Rustolium. They are 3 years old and have over 10K on them and still look great.

[RandyG]

+1 on both posts, watch out for those wires shooting you in the face. kinda hurts.

[grantstew8]

Thanks for the updates. I think it will be worth getting them sandblasted; I just got a new dewalt drill from Santa and it's a waste to trash it for the sake of £50. As always, I appreciate the advice.

[Kody]

Gudday Grant,
I needed to get some trailer parts and other stuff sandblasted so I went to Bunnings and bought one of their cheap sandblasting kits. The kit consisted of a handgun unit, a length of rubber hose and a pick-up steel tube. I went to the beach and filled a couple of buckets of very fine beach sand from up in the dunes. (Don't tell anyone where I got the sand ), took it home and sieved it out with a simple flour sifter. This took all the bits of grass, leaves, twigs and ants out of the sand and I was left with some very clean and dry sand. I used this with the sandblaster unit outside and let the sand blow directly over the ground. The finished result was nothing less than magnificent and the tight corners were perfect and ready to paint immediately. The sandblasting kit cost AU $20.00 and has been a fabulous investment. Once you have one you will be cleaning all kinds of things with it. The sand from the beach only costs the time and a small amount of fuel to collect it. Well, it does for me as I live only 10 klms from the beach and then a 12 klm drive to the sand dunes. My air compressor pumps out 15 cubic feet a minute and it works extremely well.
Hope this helps you a bit.

Kody

[grantstew8]

Thanks for the idea Kody...
http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/product/details/sb3-gritblast-gun Found one for £20......
As for beach sand....it will cost me a few bob to fly to the gold coast from here, excess baggage will be a killer on the way back...

[michaelrsydney]

Careful Kody, sand blasting can be very bad for your health. Most beach sand contains silica and that stuff can kill you in your lungs. Silicosis is not a nice way to go. Better to use the blasting media sold in hardware stores and Supercheap auto stores.

http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/92-102/


The other problem with beach sand is the salt content which gets blasted into the tiny pores of the steel and promotes corrosion.

PS If you are blasting delicate items like aluminium or carburettors try blasting with common baking soda (bicarbonate)... it is fantastic for softer metals and just washes off when finished.