Lotus Elan and Lotus Elan Plus 2 Forums

Hi all, just wondering if anyone who's blasted their wheels has any tips for how to prepare the wheels so the paint and gunge will come off a bit easier. I made a start last week and it was tough going. It will take ages at this rate. I was using medium grit, have bought a bag of coarse grit to add to it, but as it's 40 degrees in Sydney today i'll find something else indoors to do. Was wondering about coating in paint stripper first, anyone done that?

Any tips gratefully received

Robert

Paint strip first then grit blast.

But beefore you do anything make sure they are round and true - take them to a tyre place and get them to mount them on the balancer.

I didn't, and 2 of the 10 that I carefully stripped, primed, painted, and laqured are scrap

Wellll first of your wheels must be , oil and , grease free so use gunk to wash the shizen off ---the sand wont remove it ----second they must be dry and then blast away but paint them immediately to avoid rust and corrosion --ed

I had mine sand blasted and powder coated. However during the bakeing of the powder coat, the seam between the the center and outer rim leaked some oil at the joint and left a black line at the joint in some areas. When I went back to the powder coating shop they explained it was almost impossible to remove anything that is caught in the joint area, and offered to re-powder.
However, they offerd a simple fix that I accepted. My wheels are silver and they told me there was caulking (similar to RTV) offered in different colours. I went on line searched and found the items. Applied a very thin bead around the joint and rubbed my finger around to remove excess. I simple fix that worked much better than I expected. It has held up well and has lasted without any further attention. The caulking is avaliable in several colors and the silver was a perfect match.

Good luck
James

I have had success with a wire brush and a drill ...ed

De-grease with good stuff.........not that nancy boy tree hugger crap that doesn't work.

Brush around,let set for thirty mintues then Power Wash the heck out of them. The problem with coarse grits is, it eats into the metal. When coated, the ravaged metal "may" show through.

I always tell the guys to bead blast. Then powder coat. Never had a problem in fifteen years.

I've known some of the guys soak wheels in gasoline, it works great to dissolve items between the hub and wheel. But be careful and dispose of the waste properly and safely.

Mike

holywood3645 wrote:I had mine sand blasted and powder coated. However during the bakeing of the powder coat, the seam between the the center and outer rim leaked some oil at the joint and left a black line at the joint in some areas. When I went back to the powder coating shop they explained it was almost impossible to remove anything that is caught in the joint area, and offered to re-powder.
However, they offerd a simple fix that I accepted. My wheels are silver and they told me there was caulking (similar to RTV) offered in different colours. I went on line searched and found the items. Applied a very thin bead around the joint and rubbed my finger around to remove excess. I simple fix that worked much better than I expected. It has held up well and has lasted without any further attention. The caulking is avaliable in several colors and the silver was a perfect match.

Good luck
James

Just be careful with RTV. The vinegar smell indicates that it is acidic and so will cause corrosion on bare steel.