MTFCA Forum

I will be installing my new tires and tubes on rusty rims. I am thinking it would be a good idea to paint the inside of the rims with Rustoleum to prevent more rust and smooth out the surface.

I would definitely bead or sand blast the rims to a "full white" condition, smooth any sharp edges, and then use an epoxy primer before applying a good equipment enamel. Since it's the inside of the rim you can brush it on. However, if the rims have knife-edge clinches, I wouldn't use them, unless your favorite part of the hobby s buying new tire sets.

If you have a rim with sharp edges that you absolutely must save, one approach would be to obtain a pair of "rim savers", they are made in Australia.

I got mine through the kind efforts of Andrew Brand, I don't know if he is still able to obtain them and ship them to the US.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1475544558

Remove the rust first.

Chris, if you are confident your rusty rims are not sharp, then a good rust converting coating will help slow subsequent further rusting. I t is the flakes of new rust which cause headaches with flat tyres. Whether I am fitting tyres to old rims or to newly refurbished and plated ones, I always use a rim liner. These I cut from the outer diameter of a 13" inner tube, or from a 20" bicycle tube. They are a snap fit on a T rim and stay in place when levering the tyres on. The idea is the tube is then isolated from the rim, inside the tyre and the rim liner.

Hope this helps,
Allan from down under.

Ditto on careful inspection of the clincher rim edge. IMO, sandblast after inspection of a good candidate for re-use, and inspect again, then prep and paint to keep the metal preserved for the next generation.

Many of the rims still around today have suffered rust--away, large flakes gone and the clincher edge that once was smooth, rounded, and 1/8" thick at the edge are no longer viable.
Junker What you get when the sharp rusted away edge rides against your brand new tire after only a short trip

Rim cut, ruined tire $$$

Have to agree with Allan, but don't forget painting the rims won't prevent them from rusting.

I have new rims on non Demountable wheels which were well painted with automotive paints.

After many years use I had a flat tire and when I removed the tire large amounts of rust and flake paint fell out. ( a good hand full)

Over the years the T had been out in rain and then parked in the garage,

The water can get inside between the tire and rim and if it sits there the paint can't prevent the water from penetrating to the rim. Leave a wet rag on a paint surface and it will result in the paint being lifted off by rust. So a rust band of some sort needs to be put between the rim and tube. Obviously why Ford ended up galvanizing the rims when they were new.
This is a photo I took at the time. thats a quarter sized coin next to the rust/paint flakes.

...painting the rims won't prevent them from rusting.

I can attest to that. At last year's midwinter clinic I was supposed to do a presentation on installing metal valve stems. I took along a clincher rim with a tire on it, thinking I'd dismount the tire and put a metal stem in the tube as a demonstration. The aluminum-painted rim looked great and the tire seemed to be good. But when I started to dismount the tire I found it was rusted to the rim. The show ended with four or five of us on the floor prying the tire off the rusty rim, and the demonstration was a fizzle. Galvanizing the rims is best.

CudaMan wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:03 pm

If you have a rim with sharp edges that you absolutely must save, one approach would be to obtain a pair of "rim savers", they are made in Australia.

I got mine through the kind efforts of Andrew Brand, I don't know if he is still able to obtain them and ship them to the US.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1475544558

Please tell me more about Rim Savers.

All I know about them is what is in the linked older post. They are made in Australia from mild steel and Andrew Brand knows the person in Australia that makes them. Here is a link to Andrew Brand's profile in the older forum in case you want to contact him:

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/80 ... 1248050660

http://www.mtfca.com/cgi-bin/discus/boa ... rand-users

What specifically did you want to know?

Chris Haynes wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 26, 2020 2:51 pm

CudaMan wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 25, 2020 7:03 pm

If you have a rim with sharp edges that you absolutely must save, one approach would be to obtain a pair of "rim savers", they are made in Australia.

I got mine through the kind efforts of Andrew Brand, I don't know if he is still able to obtain them and ship them to the US.

http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/59 ... 1475544558

Please tell me more about Rim Savers.

Rim Savers only prevent tire bead cuts. They do not give strength back to rims that are rusted dangerously thin. Rims have been known to "let go". Be safe!

I doubt if there is much hope for a rim with sharp edges. I agree on the discussions on paint preparation and painting. BUT instead of a flap has anyone used Flex Seal Liquid,for anything? I have never user it but looks like a possible application.

Thanks you for the information. My rims are a bit rusty but not a bit sharp.
https://i412.photobucket.com/albums/pp2 ... 2smq2h.jpg

Chris, from what I can see from your picture, your rim looks to be very useable. It does have a bit of rust damage on the edges on the clinchers, but not bad at all, if that is the worst of it. How do they look in the clincher area? Rust in that area can lead to failure of the rim. I am sure others will chime in too. JMHO Dave

Chris, from what I can see from your picture, your rim looks to be very useable.

I agree. If you have a full set of rims no worse than that, I would blast them clean and have them hot dip galvanzed.

What about power coating?

I had many of my rims blasted and powder coated at a local powder coat shop, one to four in a batch as I found them at swap meets. The powder coater was a car guy and was excited about helping a fellow hobbyist get his Model T on the road.

I wasn't in a hurry, so the guy held on each batch of rims until they could be combined with another big job.

The price varied between 20 bucks each and free (for those rims that the powder coater felt guilty about keeping too long).

Thank you for sharing,

I'm gonna power coating mines end of April.

Powder coating is not the answer. Powder coat is a form of paint. When water gets into the rim/tyre assembly, it will still cause rust as the paint breaks down under constant moisture contact. It may take a little longer, but they will still rust. Galvanising is the best answer, but ask yourself, "How come very few original Galvanised rims show up?" Bugger all, as they to will rust under constant moisture. It is the nature of the beast.

Allan from down under.