[johncub7172]

I had my 6-12 Original rims I got from Cubcrazy sandblasted. Right away flash rust began, so I wiped down with a 99.9% industrial alcohol then primed with Valspar primer in a rattle can. After a few days, I cleaned and painted with a automotive primer sealer and let that set up a few more days. Then after that, I went ahead with the Valspar Oil Base primer, and that's where the rims are at today.

The front two rims, however I cleaned down to a sparkling metal shine. It was work, but my mindset at the time simply could not be defeated by rims that looked very much what the original poster has posted pictures of. I started off by removing the old Goodyear tires that were so commonly used on the IH Cub Cadets. I save them because they always could be tubed and used for the IH#2 cart, or anything else for that matter.

I used quite a lot of different tools for this task. Those were a small wire brush, scotch brite, various types of sandpaper, drywall sanding mesh{worked really well on dry rust}, and The Works toilet bowl cleaner. When the rims were new shining metal inside and out, I done the same primer methods mentioned above with the 6-12 rims.

The toilet bowl cleaner will really take care of the basket pulley. Then you can follow up with a screwdriver and pick off the paint. That will flake off, but a little scratching will be in order. The screw driver is a very handy tool in paint removal, believe it or not! My steps could be called the hard way, but as with my current, on going 72 fix-up, I have saved money to buy other things for the tractor. Helps when you don't have a rush to complete the project, too!