Rusting wheels

Markdb69 said:

Hi there
What a wonderful forum you have here!
I have an old peugeot racer and as the picture shows she is getting a bit rusty.
[img]img247.imageshack.uswheelrt5.jpgOpen ↗[/img]
I was wondering what the best method for stopping any more rust developing and possibly making my wheels look shiny again is?
Thank you very much for any help
Mark

They are plated steel with the plating coming off.
Buff them with wads of aluminum foil to clean off some of the rust. 3M Scotchbrite pads also work.
There isn't a practical way to stop the rust without making the wheels more dangerous to ride.

This is why the gods invented CF.

Thanks for the reply, I will give your advice a try!
What does CF stand for? I tried searching on google, but just got cystic fibrosis and I dont think god invented that disease to aid my rust issues

Markdb69 said:

Thanks for the reply, I will give your advice a try!
What does CF stand for? I tried searching on google, but just got cystic fibrosis and I dont think god invented that disease to aid my rust issues

CF stands for Carbon Fiber. One of those rims will cost more than your bicycle.
Steel wheels have always had this issue. I used to use Chrome Cleaner from the auto world; which works but makes the braking surfaces have even lower coefficient of friction. Maas metal polish came too late for me to try in that application.
Most rims today are aluminum, softer (not good) & lighter (good), but have better braking surface than steel, especially when wet.

For $50 to $100 each you could have them rechromed by an electroplater.

If you take off the existing rust with chrome polish, tinfoil, or some other method, they will look much better because the rust spot is typically larger than the hole in the chrome. You can keep the chrome polish off the braking surfaces because they're knurled anyway, and even if some gets on the rim sides it surely won't last long.

I believe chrome polish leaves a waxy finish which will protect the bare, formerly rusty spots from further rust, at least to some degree.

Markdb69 said:

I have an old peugeot racer and as the picture shows she is getting a bit rusty.

I was wondering what the best method for stopping any more rust developing and possibly making my wheels look shiny again is?

The chrome plating is probably more robust than others have suggested ... depending on the quality of the original plating, there may not be any serious pitting.

Regardless, to remove the rust, use a damp SOS-or-Brillo-type pad ... rinse, wipe off ... repeat if necessary ... "wax" with some furniture polish of your choice (spray on Pledge-type or paste wax).

As noted by OldGoat, if you want to "restore" the rims (I presume they are Rigida, but it doesn't matter what brand), you can bring them to a metal plater -- of course, it probably isn't worth the expense.

Don't forget that in addition to the chroming you would have to pay to have the spokes taken out and put back in, if you had the rims replated. Plus, prices for plating have been going up due to the cost of disposing of the toxic chemicals.

New alloy rims are not that expensive (cheaper than replating) and it would be a good chance to learn how to build wheels!