best practices for cleaning up rusty spokes? I just picked up a mid-80's Shogun mtn bike yesterday for $10 and the Araya rims look like they're in good condition except for the rusty spokes. Can they be saved or is it better to ditch the wheel? thanks

superficial rust?; or are the nipples frozen/rusted in place? Or worse yet, rust that has visibly eaten away spoke material?

Unfortunately, I think the best advice would be to ditch the rusty spokes and relace which would likely cost more than a factory-built replacement wheelset. Araya rims, while fairly tough IME, aren't exactly restoration pieces.

Rebuilding a wheel is time consuming; it takes a lot of skill as well.

If the rust is superficial, you can polish the spokes with a metal polish cream and a rag. That also is a slow proces, if you do it well. Eventually, the rust will be back.

So, let's say he uses oxalic acid to facilitate removal of the rust. How does he protect the new steel surface from further corrosion - oil, spray paint, spray varnish, spray lacquer, spray shellac, ...?

powdercoating

Don't you think powder coating would cost too much and would take too long. What DIY options exist for him?

I always look for stainless steel spokes when I look for wheels.

I used some liquid wrench and a brass brush to remove the rust off my spokes, then gave them a light coating of clear spray on lacquer. They didn't rust again even after sitting outside.

Hard to effectively use oxalic on spokes without damaging aluminum rims and hub. Better to just try some WD40 and scotchbrite pad or similar. Otherwise, look for a good donor bike for possible wheels. I have found some really good MTB donors in the $5 to $20 range.

planyourfate,

Which lacquer product did you use (brand and product name)?

Actually, it was the cheapest at wal-mart, Color-Place (brand) or something like that. I was really surprised at the quality of it (I did use three coats though).

The spokes are fine. Steel wool and elbow grease. Make sure the nipples aren't frozen, though. If they are, you may be talking rebuilding the wheel or at least replacing all the frozen spokes.

Sounds good. I have a fat-tired bike that has rusty plated spokes. I made the mistake of just cleaning them. They looked good for a few wekks but have since gone from dark grey to dark orange. I don't want to replace the spokes/wheels, as they are 100% functional.

Obviously, powercoating is not an option for rusty spokes.

I was just fooling around, hoping to read some astonished reactions. Sorry about that.

I always use stainless steel spokes for (re)building wheels. The quality of the rim and hub will tell you if it's worthwhile rebuilding it.

Otherwise, get rid of it and buy some factory made wheels. Eventually, you may want to tension them; they usually do need that.