Recondition Chromed Steel Wheels? Shiny outside, rusty inside ...

[scratchboat]

I just bought a used 2003 2WD Ranger XLT with factory 7-Spoke Styled Steel 15" Wheels. Wheel faces look great, but peering through the spokes I can see some pitting and rust forming on the inside of the rims. Is there a quick and easy way to clean that up with the tires mounted w/o "hurting" the chrome face? I need new tires desperately - apparently it's still rolling on the original 18-year old tires, but I don't want to start a big project that requires removing the tires, treating the rims, and then revisiting the tire shop to have new tires mounted.

 

[sgtsandman]

It depends on how bad the rust is. If it's bad enough that it could catch on the brake hardware, I would consider finding other rims. I have steel rims for my winter tires that I had to take out of service because of that. At least 3 of them are bad and need to be replaced. The last year I used them, I had to beat the rust loose with a hammer in order for the brakes to clear. I also fought with air pressure retention all winter long (rust build up on the seat where the tire bead sits and seals). If they look that bad and aren't holding air well, it's better to just ditch them now and get another set.

 

[scratchboat]

It depends on how bad the rust is.

Thanks for the advice. The rust isn't that bad, it's just the rest of the truck looks almost new so the spots of rust on the wheels stand out. I haven't had a set of "steelies" on a vehicle in years, so I'm guess I'm not used to seeing rust on the rims - no matter how slight it is. I guess I'll just monitor it from here on out & learn to live with it.

 

[55trucker]

Recondition?

not easy to do with the chrome clad wheels, I've a set of these as well (2 sets now), up where I am the salt/dirt debris driven thru in the winter is hard on this particular wheel. After so many years of it the salt flows in between the front side of the wheel (spoke) & the back side of the chrome clad fascia. The rot begins to work on the wheel & after some time you'll actually begin to see the chrome clad fascia start to lift away from the wheel. Have you noticed any distorting/ bulging at any point of the cladding face?
The chrome clad fascia will not come off under normal conditions, the adhesive that's used is heat resistant, freezing cold resistant as well, I've come across individuals in the past who's wheels were so bad and they had to cut the cladding off in sections, using a chisel punch to hammer it off as they go.

the only thing I've been able to do to service the hoop of the wheel & the backside of the spoke portion is to use a ball pein hammer to loosen up the heavy mess & a 5"angle grinder with a wire cup wheel threaded in to clean up the corrosion on the wheel surface, right into the recess down where the hoop is welded to the spoke. Messy job, but did some good, then painted with some Dulux metalclad black. Of the 8 wheels I have 4 are still nice enough to be used only during the warm mths of the year.

 

[19Walt93]

Get some satin black POR 15, carefully scrape the loos rust off and put a couple of coats of POR on the exposed areas. Obviously scrub the wheels clean first and let them dry thoroughly before coating them. I'd coat the back side of the wheels, too. That'll make them look better but I'd still rather have aluminum wheels.

 

[scratchboat]

Get some satin black POR 15

Thanks! I wasn’t aware of this “Paint Over Rust” stuff - definitely going to give this a try.

 

[55trucker]

My suggestion on the *paint over rust* not a good idea where steel wheels are concerned, one needs to remove all of the surface or imbedded corrosion that is present so the surface is clean. Remember that these HAVE to be balanced, if you leave anything there that can dislodge & fall off that can upset the balance you'll need to rebalance again.

 

[19Walt93]

Thanks! I wasn’t aware of this “Paint Over Rust” stuff - definitely going to give this a try.

Wear gloves, it's hard to get it off skin.

 

[truckfan]

Any update OP? What product did you use?

 

[scratchboat]

Sorry - no updates. It’s killing me, but I can’t work on the truck at all this week. I’m away on vacation and Ranger is sitting at home in the garage. I wanted to take the truck on vacation, but tires were too old to risk it …