> My friend Pete has really sorry looking wire wheels on his TR6. We're
> thinking that we should sandblast them clean (they're even a little rusty
> in spots) and repaint them. He can't afford to ship them off somewhere
> and have them done right; this is only a temporary fix. Are we out
> of our minds? Will we create all sorts of new problems by blasting
> them clean? Can the sandblasting be done with the tires still on
> the rim?
No, no, and no.
I did this to the Alpine's wire wheels last year. A local tire shop
took the tires off the rims for me, and a local gravestone shop did
the sandblasting. A friend did the painting. The same tire shop very
carefully put new tires on. Not counting the cost of the new tires,
for about $120 I got 5 rust-free, freshly painted, beautiful wire
wheels.
You need to take the tires off the rims because if the wheels are
visibly rusty from the outside, they're probably rusty under the
tire/tube as well.
You will want to get new tube protectors (or whatever that strip of
rubber that sits between the wheel and the tube is called). The ones
you have now are probably shot. Ditto for the tubes. Goodyear was
the only place I could find in town that had the correct size tubes.
For added effect, paint the rear drums flat black. It really sets off
the wires. I did this, and it looks great.
Best of luck,
--
T.J. Higgins | higgins@ingr.com | Intergraph Mapping Sciences | Huntsville, AL
"Laugh and the world laughs with you.
Pun and you pun alone." -- Dagwood Bumstead (Young & Drake)
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