Originally Posted by
Senior Ryder 00
Hi folks,
I'm about to start on a significant wheel building project. Back in the 80s and early 90s, when I was heavily into wheel building, the procedure was to put the nipples in a small container and coat them with light oil before starting. Now , there are a variety of "spoke preparation" products plus some recommend a Locktite product. What do you folks recommend?
Zinc anti-seize, which corrodes before aluminum rims and nipples making it the theoretically ideal treatment.
Plain grease is fine too - the aluminum nipples turned as well as they did 12 years before when I demonstrated growing past 200 pounds doesn't mix with 400 gram box section rims and needed to replace the one I bent.
An acid brush with the bristles cut in half works great for spoke threads and rim nipple sockets if it fits; otherwise use a Q-tip there.
3-in-1 oil is OK for brass nipples, although you'll want something thicker to keep water out with alloy.
WheelSmith invented Spoke Prep as a band-aid so they could sell under-tensioned machine built wheels without dealing with warranty returns from heavier riders that caused the nipples to unscrew when the bottom spokes went slack under their weight. A little goo is a lot less expensive than hand-labor doing things right.
Get enough tension and you won't have problems, especially running butted spokes in your non-drive-side. You will appreciate how easily properly lubricated nipples turn (sockets and spoke threads) when building wheels.
You'll also want to remove any burrs left by manufacturing using a drill bit spun with your fingers.