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[General] How to paint rusted wheel hubs

easycalipers

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Hi Guys

In light of a recent post and request for info on this.. I thought i would share my method of fixing ( painting ) rusted wheel hubs.

The unfortunate thing is that this happens to lots of cars even within a few years of owning a brand new car this can happen.
It is a pain in the butt if you have a nice set of alloys and generally any rust on a car is not a great look.

IMPORTANT NOTE : do not paint or sand or work on the area where the alloy wheels or wheel base sits against and connects to the wheel hub.

So how do you fix it.

The Tools You will need

Tyre Iron
Jack Stands ( 4 )
Drill
Wire wheels ( a whole set in different sizes )
Cleaning Solution ( 1 part vinegar - 3 parts water )
Brake Parts Cleaner
PAINT - ( VHT EPOXY Paint - Black ) - it has a picture of suspension on the can
Heat Gun
Paint Thinners ( Just in case of overspray )
safety goggles
Breathing mask


IMPORTANT -

Step 1

Place the car on a level concreted surface, have the handbrake on and make sure it is in gear or in Park

Step 2

Undo the wheel nuts a little bit but not completely off on all 4 wheels

Step 3

Using a scissor jack , jack the vehicle from a centre pinch point so to raise 2 wheels at once.
Insert Jack Stands at the correct points lower the car onto the jacks and repeat on the other side.

Make sure the wheels are fully off the ground

If you dont know how to put a whole car on jack stands YOUTUBE it.

Step4

Remove the wheels to access disk hubs.

Lower the handbrake and put the car in neutral at this point.

Step5

Put on a breathing mask and safety goggles.

Using the drill with a wire wheel attachment proceed to wire wheel the rust.
You will be impressed how easily a wire wheel will remove it.

There are usually hard to reach areas on the hubs so you may need different size wire attachements to get all the rust off.

You can also rotate the disks ( provided handbrake is off and car is in neutral ) with your hands to gain access and work from the top only.

- Repeat the wire wheel cleaning until the hubs are back to metal.

Remove as much rust as you can with the wire wheels, the better you get it off the better the paint finish

Step 6

Using a solution of 1 parts vinegar and 3 parts water , thoroughly clean the hubs and this solution will remove the light surface rust that remains.
It is an old car restorers trick

Step 7

Either dry the hubs with a clean rag or using your heat gun.

Step 8

Time to paint . dont be afraid to spray the disk surface as the brake pads will remove this when you drive.
In thin layers , spray the cleaned area with the black epoxy paint.
Rotate the disk with your hands instead of spraying upside down.
Everything can be done from the top working down.

- Repeat for all 4 hubs.

Step 9

Dry and set each coat by using the heat gun for about 1 minute per hub to dry it.

- Apply another 2 coats , heat drying in between each coat.

Step 10

If you managed to get paint anywhere other than the disk surface use thinners on a rag to clean it up.

Step 11

engage the handbrake and put the car in gear.

Fit the tyres and tighten blots to the end but dont finish the tightening

step 12

Lower the car off the jacks

Tighten your wheel nuts to a good torque

And you are done.



IMPORTANT - after half hour , take the car for a drive and use the brakes to clean up the overspray on the disk.
The pads will actually tear off the paint and leave that perfect circle.


I hope this helps you guys.


Regards
Boris
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