Advice on some serious wheel cleaning.....

[Superman1984]

ya never know. Nothing says drink me, like a frothy greenish brown bubbling mixture of libation.

I've seen dogs go after gear oil & grease
I know how bad that stinks but they were nose deep trying to get in the differential so much for flushing & just letting it drain before a thorough brake clean.

I have been soaked in it before & I hated it so wtf knows with animals Really

 

[Rivnut]

To really clean the rims well, I recommend that you remove the spokes so you can get under the head of the nipple. Now that you have a bare rim, you can soaking in an OA solution. Too much OA leaves the greenish coating, but it can easily be wiped off. You can effectively soak a bare rim in a minimum of solution by using a drip pan for a hot water heater. Plastic and inexpensive at any hardware store. A small brass detain brush will speed up the process if you scrub on the build up during the soaking process. The warmer the OA solution the better.

 

[palepainter]

Thanks a ton

To really clean the rims well, I recommend that you remove the spokes so you can get under the head of the nipple. Now that you have a bare rim, you can soaking in an OA solution. Too much OA leaves the greenish coating, but it can easily be wiped off. You can effectively soak a bare rim in a minimum of solution by using a drip pan for a hot water heater. Plastic and inexpensive at any hardware store. A small brass detain brush will speed up the process if you scrub on the build during the soaking process.

View attachment 1454000

Thanks a ton. Perfect. I have no problem lacing and truing. The hardest thing I deal with regarding rims, is when I’m mating a hub to a different rim and trying to get the spoke length correct. Dismantling and old rim and putting it back together is pretty straight forward.

 

[Rivnut]

I just cleaned up a pair of chrome rims that were covered in surface rust. Not wanting to remove the spokes (insides were pristene) I soaked one third of the wheel at a time in the laundry sink I had installed in the lower level garage (my bike / woodworking shop)when we built the house. I could do half a wheel at a time but I don't want to get the hubs, cones, bearings, brake parts wet.

 

[coasterbrakejunkie1969]

on the Schwinn double wall rims , I used a syringe provided by my dentist to flush a removed wisdom tooth to flush out the rim through the weep holes inside the rim. That was after soaking in evaporust in a metal baking pan. Rotating it every so often till I had gone all the way around and used a brass detail brush. Not sure if this is even necessary but I saw it mention in another post. I have done with spokes but prefer without.

 

[Superman1984]

I always brass or steel wire brush around the spokes inside & outside. Usually removes so much during soaking on little to moderately heavy rust that it gets it back to bare metal. I usually 1" Gorilla tape the spoke heads immediately once cleaned, dried, & everything is ready for a tube & tire.

I suppose if it rusts it'll be mainly in the taped area or on the sides of it

 

[Rivnut]

I bought a 64 girl's bike the other day for next to nothing. I wanted the pedals, wheels, light and some other things from it. The rims had quite a bit of surface rust which was quickly taken care of with some aluminum foil and water, and a small brass brush around the nipples. To thoroughly clean the rims I dismounted the tires. Original Schwinn Westwind tires and original tubes. They were still holding air. Broke the tire off the rim and removed the tube and under the rim strips was perfect chrome. Apparently the original tubes were good enough as to not leak and kept the tires seated against the rim and no water got inside in 57 years. Can't say the same for the light. It looked like surface rust but turned out to be some leaky original batteries.

 

[Archie Sturmer]

For a liquid soak (e.g., vinegar & Evaporust), I have used commercial Rubbermaid drawer organizers. The 15” x 2” x 3” works for rotating rims, a section at a time; while the 15” x 2” x 6” works for many cranks.

 

[GiovanniLiCalsi]

If it’s tube sealant, you can use a propane torch to soften the sealant and brush it smooth.

 

[Coyote]

These disposable planting "window boxes" can be had at Walmart or Dollar Store.
Good for longer parts like rims or fenders.
Most times they come with the plants that the wife buys
or if you get lucky you can find some at the Dump.