Rim Rust....Common?

Cub Cadet 123 · #1 01-05-2012, 10:22 PM

My tires on one of my 129 were weather checked to the point of losing air. I wanted to put tubes in, but after removing the tires I saw that another problem existed-rust. Though my rims appeared to be in good shape from the outside with little to no rust on them, the inside had become a rust bucket. I was wondering if it was the moisture in the compressed air over all of these years that had a bad affect on the rims or if it might be something else. Is this common? I am going to bead blast them, which has never flash rusted on me and then I am going to have them professionally painted.......hopefully that would stop the rust and give me many more years of service. Advice on whether I should put tubes in with my new tires or not put tubes in would be very appreciated. I have a brand new set of front, narrow ags to put on once the rims have been cleaned and repainted. Thanks in advance for your comments...

Cub Cadet 123

jbrewer · #2 01-06-2012, 07:32 AM

Seems NOT to be unusual .... 50 years is a long time and there's the potential for moisture to be trapped in there for a long time.

Blast and paint away!

Diz Jr. · #3 01-06-2012, 07:44 AM

Same here, Looks like some of mine did. Sanded them up and a new coat of paint and they should be good for many more years

Cub Cadet 123 · #4 01-07-2012, 02:39 AM

Thanks fellas for the comments, but should I put tubes in after they are all painted up to prevent this from happening again in the future or should I just mount the new tires on without tubes? Thanks again in advance of your advice and comments....

Cub Cadet 123

Diz Jr. · #5 01-07-2012, 10:10 AM

I don't know that tubes will prevent them from rusting. The ones i have taken off that had tubes didn't look any different than the ones without. I do have tubes in all of my front tires now. They just seem to hold air over a longer period of time than without tubes. Just my

jbrewer · #6 01-07-2012, 10:37 AM

I'm hoping a good coating of rust converter then paint helps slow down its reappearance .....

cub123 · #7 01-07-2012, 10:52 AM

I would try it without a tube, what I've found is the valve on most tubes won't seal on the rim very well and let's in water and junk. Like the rear rims on my 1811, the tubless was perfect, the orher one I had to wire wheel and repaint. Though I agree, tubes seem to be more reliable.

johncub7172 · #8 01-07-2012, 04:48 PM

I would run tubes in all 4 tires. You can regulate the air pressure and not worrie about breaking the bead. I have never had any problems using tubes.

If you choose not to use tubes, the bead surface on the rim must be perfect. No rust pits. Most common repair is to have a pitted bead ground down, and filled in with weld. Also note the shape of the valve stem hole. You dont want a rusted out of shape hole there, too.

Why is one rim more rusty than the other? From one side or the other that had been sitting away from the sun,......maybe?

After the beadblast, use a primer sealer. Then use the regular primer. Your rims should turn out like factory new. [show sides]

72-149 · #9 01-07-2012, 08:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cub Cadet 123

My tires on one of my 129 were weather checked to the point of losing air. I wanted to put tubes in, but after removing the tires I saw that another problem existed-rust. Though my rims appeared to be in good shape from the outside with little to no rust on them, the inside had become a rust bucket. I was wondering if it was the moisture in the compressed air over all of these years that had a bad affect on the rims or if it might be something else. Is this common? I am going to bead blast them, which has never flash rusted on me and then I am going to have them professionally painted.......hopefully that would stop the rust and give me many more years of service. Advice on whether I should put tubes in with my new tires or not put tubes in would be very appreciated. I have a brand new set of front, narrow ags to put on once the rims have been cleaned and repainted. Thanks in advance for your comments...

Cub Cadet 123

those are tube rims now ,if you try and put tubless tires on them they will leak for sure ,i would sand or wire wheel what you can and spray them with the rust inhibiter it turns rust in to a paintable surface & call it a day ...

MikeC · #10 01-08-2012, 09:53 AM

You mention in the beginning that you are going to bead blast the rims. Then later you mention using a coat of rust converter and then painting. I believe that the underlying principle of the rust converter is that it needs the rust to make it's chemical conversion. If you blast then just follow with a good primer and then paint.
The makers of most of those rust conversion products tout the fact that it saves the time and money of sand blasting.
Just my two-cents.
MikeC