Bicycle Mechanics - Rusting wheels

Hi there
What a nice busy forum you have here!
I have an old peugeot racer and as the picture shows she is getting a bit rusty
http://img247.imageshack.us/img247/6334/wheelrt5.jpg
I was wondering what the best method for stopping any more rust developing and possibly making my wheels look shiny again?
Thank you very much for any help
Mark

There are a couple of ways to get the wheels shiny again. You might want to take a look in the Classic & Vintage forum. Some of the methods are:
oxalic acid
Molasses
Steel/Brass Wool

There is a bunch of good advice/methods in that forum.

There are a couple of ways to get the wheels shiny again. You might want to take a look in the Classic & Vintage forum. Some of the methods are:
oxalic acid
Molasses
Steel/Brass Wool

There is a bunch of good advice/methods in that forum.

+1, I use steel wool. It's fast and you don't have to dismount the tires, but it doesn't do as good a job around the spoke nipples as Oxalic Acid will.

Forget the steel wool.

Regards,
J T

Forget the steel wool.

Regards,
J T

Why? It works great and I've brought back worse rust than the pic shows. I can't agree with your comment.

Why? It works great and I've brought back worse rust than the pic shows. I can't agree with your comment.

+1

Steel wool 4tw. In addition, consider an upgrade to AL wheelset if the cost is not prohibitive/bike is worth it.

Brass wool is better. Its softer than steel wool so it scratches less, and steel wool leaves steel on the rim which then is a catalyst for more rust. Just use some oil/wd40 as a lubricant.

Yours look pretty bad, though, so expect some pitting.

steel wool will scratch the heck out of it and give those rims all kinds of new places to start. It will look great when you are done, but sometime it the near future you might regret it.

Oxalic acid is magic

But then, so is upgrading to aluminum rims.

jim

Someone must have steel wooled them a hundred times already!,,,,BD

Seriously, I would ditch them and get a set of alloy rims. It will lighten the bike, makes it stop MUCH better, and stay looking good longer too. But to clean them up the easiest way, go to the hardware store and get some brass brushes. Spray them with all purpose cleaner, and start scrubbing. It WILL NOT scratch the chrome, no matter what anyone here says. I've used this method dozens of time without a single scratch.

"I've used this method dozens of time without a single scratch." Quote.

I am not going anywhere near there.

'Reguards',
J T

Remove the tires. To remove the rust use regular aluminum foil dipped in household vinegar and scrub the surface. A copper or brass scrubbing pad will remove any sharp pieces of chrome. The rust pits and bare spots (no chrome) will always show tho.