Cleaning rusty wheel hub

K

KenSilver

New member
I'm buying new rims for my Mercedes SL500, and because they are spoked wheels they will show more of the brakes, suspension etc behind the rear wheels.



The hub and area round it - like the edges of the brake disk and housing - are rusty looking. What can I do to clean it and make it look presentable?



I could spray the housing immediately behind the disk. masking it off, no problem there. But I don't know what to do with the hub. I can't wire-brush in case I affect the disk surface. Maybe a dismantle is needed so it can be painted, but that seems like a lot of work for this non-tech owner!



Ken Silver

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~1993 SL500, glistening triple black, xenons: http://www.kensilver.com/SL

~1999 SLK 230 Kompressor, silver/black leather, CD, immaculate
 

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I did the hubs on my Passat to match the silver mating surface of the wheel and I used Caliper paint.

Take some emery paper and cut it in strips longways and holding both ends of the strip run it over the hub like shoe shining .. once clean use a little Brake Kleen to clean the area then cut a circle out of carboard to cover the disc area and then spray away.
 
I painted the exposed surface of the "hub" and the edges of the discs on my Mustang with Eastwood HiTemp Coating (Silver.) I used a small foam brush and it came out really well. Only have to touch it up about once a year.
 
To attack the rust prior to painting use the emery paper/steel wool and some Kroil from Kano Labs, does a nice job cleaning up as does their Exrust When. Everything's all painted and detailed again, you could paint on a light coat of Weatherpruf. Seems pretty durable.
 
Thanks - it seems a simple clean and paint seems to be the answer. I was concerned that the hub might be made or coated with a proprietary coating that needs another form of cleaning.
 
I've just taken a look at our Mercedes SLK rear hub. It's a '99 model, and the hub looks like new.



It doesn't look painted, but seems to have a metal finish to it. That's the effect I want.



I'll take a photo when I next get the rear wheel off.



Ken Silver

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1999 Mercedes SLK, 1999 Suzuki Grand Vitara, 1993 Mercedes SL500, 1991 Daimler (Vanden Plas). Finish detailing, then start all over again...
 
Jesstzn said:
I did the hubs on my Passat to match the silver mating surface of the wheel and I used Caliper paint.

Take some emery paper and cut it in strips longways and holding both ends of the strip run it over the hub like shoe shining .. once clean use a little Brake Kleen to clean the area then cut a circle out of carboard to cover the disc area and then spray away.
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I just did the hubs on the CR-V. I found a Dremel with a wire wheel was good for getting rust out of the small areas, and the grooves.



Peter..in Denver
 
Well. I chickened out and got my paint shop to do it while they were painting something else on the car. But - though they're a top quality shop, they decided to handpaint these. The effect is a bit rough but probably better than I could have done.
 

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Ken Silver- Heh heh, before somebody :nono you for not DIYing it, I'll play "Autopian Heretic" again and give you a :xyxthumbs for just letting the shop do it. At least it's *done* and you're satisfied. Life is short, your rotors look nice, all is well.
 
Accumulator said:
...At least it's *done* and you're satisfied. Life is short, your rotors look nice, all is well.
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Yes, it is *done* Accumulator, but that and "done good" are two different animals. After stewing about the amateurish looks of the new paint for a couple of days, I've decided to get them done properly--and if that means stripping the brakes down and getting them anodised/whatever, then I'll do it.



Life's too short to put up with inferior stuff. And I've got my reputation as a fully qualified OC to protect! :)
 
Don't forget the A-arms while you are under there. They are a little grey (dirty). Just looking out for your reputation......have fun :p
 
go to your hardware store and get rust transformer or rust stop or whatever, the stuff that takes iron ixode and chemically treats it into a black, rust-inhibiting protective coating. then go at it with high temp paint (doesn't necessarily have to be really expensive calliper paint).



And definately coat your rotors next time around (especially the hat and the fins)
 
Ken Silver- A while back an Autopian got the rotors on his 500E done in electroless-nickel plating. It quickly wore off the swept areas and held up well on the rest of the rotor. Had a nice dull silver sheen to it, not all flashy/gaudy or anything. If I were gonna pull the rotors I'd probably do it that way.
 
saling4 said:
Don't forget the A-arms while you are under there. They are a little grey (dirty). Just looking out for your reputation......have fun :p
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That's paint shop dust. Don't worry, I had the Q-tips out soon after :)
 
YoSteve said:
go to your hardware store and get rust transformer or rust stop or whatever, the stuff that takes iron ixode and chemically treats it into a black, rust-inhibiting protective coating..
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Yikes, that stuff is MESSY. I've done it on a section of my house where the builder used iron nails, and a year later it was worse than before. I wouldn't touch it for my $50,000 car.
 
Accumulator said:
Ken Silver- A while back an Autopian got the rotors on his 500E done in electroless-nickel plating...
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I had thought of that, but it still doesn't bring the part back to original look. Almost every other mechanical part can be refurbished to look like new, but this one has most people stumped.
 
KenSilver- Gotta admit I'm not knowledgeable about Benzes these days...what was the original finish on the rotor hat? I think the idea behind the "dull" nickel was that it would approximate the "right off the assembly line" look, but then that was a different vehicle. I sympathize with your desire to keep everything OE-looking, hard to do when they didn't really intend for such surfaces to *stay* factory fresh in appearance.
 
KenSilver said:
Yikes, that stuff is MESSY. I've done it on a section of my house where the builder used iron nails, and a year later it was worse than before. I wouldn't touch it for my $50,000 car.
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they have it in spray cans, it sprays like WD-40, turns the rust black and you paint over it with high temperature paint, plating works as long as it doesn't rust too.
 
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