Steel Wheel Refurbishment

[Elanintheforest]

Can anybody point me in the direction of a good company that will refurbish standard Elan knock-ons? I'm near Gloucester, so anywhere in the Midlands / South West / Thames Valley or London would be fine.

I had a set blasted and painted a few years back, and they looked great for a couple of years and then the rust started to return, especially between centre and rim. So I'm looking to get a couple of sets chemically cleaned (which I guess is an acid bath of some sort) to get rid of the rust completely and powder coated so that they last a bit longer.

Any pointers most welcome
Mark

[andyhodg]

Mark

I have used 'Redditch Shot Blasting and Poweder Coating' to do some cleaning and powder coating on my +2 (not the wheels though) I found them very pleasant to deal with - I believe they specialise in refurbishing wheels. Check this link http://www.redditchshotblasting.co.uk/

Good luck

Andy

[gjz30075]

Make sure they're good and true, first, and the peg holes are not beat out.

Greg Z
'72 Sprint

[nebogipfel]

Mark,

It would probably be better to spend your money on a nice new set.

They would be straight, designed for tubeless tyres, have good peg holes and are stronger wheels.

Susan Miller usually has them in stock - silver or black.

[reb53]

Mark,

Don't forget that powder coating doesn't rustproof things.
Any little pin-holes or places where water can get in will let the rust continue to work. At that point the coating starts bubbling and falling off.
Having said that, I got mine bead-blasted, crack tested and then powder coated about 15 years ago and they're fine. They only get wet once a year though, when the car is washed before being put away for the winter.

Ralph.

[john.p.clegg]

Ralph
Doesn't it rain down there....?

John

[msd1107]

Re: New Wheels

It is my understanding the the newly manufactured Lotus style steel wheels are manufactured from heavier gauge steel that the originals and are much heavier.

This would compromise the spring/damper settings as well as deteorating the supple ride for which the Lotus is famous.

This whole wheel/tire area is a snake pit for which there do not seem to be any really appealing solutions.

If you are satisfied with your current wheels/tires, it might be best to retain the current wheels. As has been suggested, check roundness, runout, and peg distortion. Also check for cracks.

David
1968 36/7988

[Elanintheforest]

Thanks chaps...Redditch soulds like a great place, and I need a load of other stuff cleaned and powder coated. My wheels are all round, true and with excellent peg holes, and the rust on one set is only superficial, not warrenting replacement. Two of the sets are black when they should be silver....nothing else wrong with them.
There was a thread recently about the replacement wheels being too heavy, and the holes not being in line with the pegs, or being too big, or some other horror. Good old Vietnamise repro stuff I guess. After restoring a Healey and a couple of E types I hate repro stuff with a passion, as it rarely fits properly and doesn't last. I would much rather spend a bit getting the original parts right.

Having said that, I don't know where the wheels came from that were the subject of the thread. I'm sure Susan Miller wouldn't knowingly sell duff stuff, and everything I've bought from her has been superb...more than can be said for other specialists

I understand that powder coating has improved considerably over the past 5 years, with adhesion qualities that don't allow rust to spread under a chip in the surface as it used to. The old stuff would peel off in sheets once a little bit of rust got in!
Mark