Modern Vespa

Bought some new rubber for my Sprint Veloce...



the rims were/are fairly rusty...a bit of a light coat of rust on the exterior

After pulling the rims apart I took a wire brush and cleaned for a bit, then took each rim half over to my bench top buffer to clean even more rust off using a black compound on the left wheel



I didn't bother with cleaning the outsides of the rims for a couple reasons. For one, I was mainly concerned with removing the rust so the rust wouldn't interfere with the tire bead seating, or coming in contact with the new tube, so I only cleaned the insides of both rim halves. Also, the wheel wont get at the inside corners of outside of the rim halves

Yet at this point, since I have new tires, I want to clean the outsides of the rims and spray some paint (probably rattle can), just because rusty rims will look like shit with new wide white wall tires (even though they are Shinkos=:-)

What's a quick and dirty way to clean the outsides of the rims so I can shoot some paint before installing my new rubber? Any product i can pick up at a hardware store...something to brush on that will eat rust? What are my options?

Ummmmmm .... sandpaper and your fingers. Then spray off residue with a can of brake cleaner. Dry then shoot a cost of primer, then color of your choice.

If they were too rusty I would just buy new ones. I don't have the means to have a workshop at my house. All the money I would save on all the power tools, I could buy more rims.

This, but degrease thoroughly first and a wire brush wheel on your drill or angle grinder before sanding if you have them. Aluminum metallic paint after lightly sanded primer, then clearcoat for a great look.

I sanded mine, then soaked over night in evaporust, primed and rattle can paint. They're still looking good.

Bringing my rims back to life

~~~I forgot to mention...I'm allergic to sandpaper=:-) Seriously, I never cared to use sandpaper. That might have something to do with the fact I'm asthmatic, yet I could wear a respirator when sanding. I have several respirators (paper, silicone mask with replaceable filters) and use them when the air I breath gets grungy, but I've never liked to sand, evah!

That said, i did get involved in a metal sanding project awhile ago, which confirmed my dislike for all things sandpaper. None the less, thank you for your suggestion

~~~that would have made the most sense...

I looked at scooter mercato(SP?) last night and saw they had a package deal for two tires, rims, tubes, for under $100, and at that price, they were only marking the rims up to like $10 or $15 for each wheel, totally righteous pricing, yet I already bought the two Shinko white wall tires and tubes from another vendor...

I'm trying to remember the circumstance, but I have purchased new rims (10" split) in the past for another scooter. They aren't as nice as the Vespa originals, but let's face it, they're good enough to get you down the road safely, and most everyone will not know they aren't oem, like that matters...

~~~If I had read your reply *before* heading to Home Depot yesterday?, I likely would have picked up the wire brush from the angle grinder I have...that probably would've worked out (easy) for me, and likely would have done a nice job getting rid of what little bit of rust on my rims.. Instead, I bought an 8 ounce bottle of Krud Kutter, along with some primer and paint, here's what I picked up-



the only reason I bought gloss black paint, I made the mistake asking wifey what she thought would look good (for the final color). I like your idea of using metallic aluminum paint, that would keep the wheel set more original looking. After I put it together, if I don't like the gloss black look, I can always re-spray it

~~~I looked at your thread. That was some bad rust. Having lived in the Detroit area for a good chunk of my life, I know how brutal the salt used on northern roads, what the salt can do to metal parts. This 74' sprint I acquired spent it's entire life in northern Oklahoma, mostly owned and ridden by a lady school teacher, and I doubt she rode much on salted winter roads, as the metal rims reveal a somewhat pampered life



I was able to use my bench top buffer on the exterior of the wider of the two rim halves, and it cleaned up fairly well



This rim half^ has the brunt of the rust

because I cheaped out and bought a small amount of dip solution ($5 instead of $25 for a larger bottle) I'm going to *paint* it on, to make the stripper stretch

I was thinking of using this 1/2" brush-



it's a spare, I bought two of them for 25 cents each, mainly to use as a chute brush for my espresso grinder


I'll look around for another brush...I think I have some of those acid type brushes somewhere, the ones with the nylon bristles. I like using the natural bristle brushes in conjunction with my espresso grinder since the bristles are natural, and if they get into the coffee basket, no biggee, the flavor will be neutral=:-)

We saw a tip on one of the hot rod forums about using diluted muriatic acid to remove heavy rust.

We had some muriatic acid on hand for the swimming pool - so we tried it on an old rim.

Holy cow... it works!

Dilute the muriatic acid with 50/50 water. Spray it on. Let it sit for about 10 minutes and do its thing. The rust pretty much dissolves right before your eyes. To stop the process, rinse with some baking soda dissolved in water.

Not for the faint of heart though. Muriatic acid is nasty stuff. Wear gloves and stay away from the fumes.

That deal at scooter mercato is killer

~~~that rim cleaned up nicely! I have some muratic acid so I will try your suggestion when I do the back (rear) wheel, hopefully sooner rather than later...this job is taking too long...I want to ride it=:-)

I'll be sure to report back, just to let you know how it went for me, using the acid you said to use...
thanks for the tip...it looks like a winner!

I've been in the weeds lately, some progress but not enough, for my likes...

that said, I'll bring you up to date, with where I am now



after the prep work using my buffing rig, I took the split rims to a utility sink, used regular liquid dish detergent, and hot water to clean away the residue before using the stripper. FWIW, I probably washed, rinsed, repeated, at least 8 X's, to get the rims clean



this is how I used the stripper, placed in a stainless steel bowl and painted it on using an acid brush



After I was satisfied with how the rust removal went, I sprayed the rust primer on...it has a flat black look to it



I am finding it hard to shoot quality pics of these rims painted black using my camera phone, but here you are none the less. The above pic is a rim half after spraying one coat of gloss black paint

right now I'm deciding if I want to go back to the store I bought this paint to buy clear coat, or just roll with the rims w/o a clear coat...decisions, decisions



Another job I'm doing along with the rim painting, is replacing the battery. I got the new battery already, I just have to install it. FWIW, I found a place in Ohio that sells Chinese 6 volt batteries reasonably ($21). I also bought a 6 volt Deltran battery tender charger/float charger from them for $25. The battery was shipped with acid in a separate plastic container. I filled the cells, connected the charger, now I'm good to go, but I have to finish the wheels first and I'll likely clean the fuel tank too. I made the mistake of letting about a gallon of fuel sit in it for well over a year. Now there is about a quart of fuel left=:-( So I thought once I remove the rear wheel to paint the rims, I'll pull off the fuel line to the carb and slosh some fresh fuel through the tank and that fuel line



I also pulled these two jet stacks out some months back (w/o going any further), and spritzed them with spray carb cleaner, then re-installed, so I should be good to go once the old fuel is flushed from the tank and the fuel line between the fuel tank and the carburetor

bought a can of clear coat, in matte




sprayed it on the rim on the right...rim on the left is the gloss black, so the matte clear tends to "whiten" up the gloss black



obligatory photo of the painted rim with a tire mounted...

I scrubbed the rims with a 3M pad wet with liquid dish soap, and that broke the matte down somewhat. Left the gloss black rim with an interesting look

That looks good, will you also paint the bolts that hold the wheel to the hub?

~~~Thanks for the attaboy, now I knew I was forgetting something...


yeah so I forgot to clean up and spray the bolts and lock washers, but comparing the freshly painted rims to the rest of the scoot, the wheel nuts aren't the only metal bits that need to be freshened up=:-)

About a dozen years ago I used to ride a Bajaj Chetak and an LML Star (AKA Stella). Had two stellas IIRC, but not at the same time. Anyways, I bought a box of 8mm nuts and lock washers as I found it easier to just replace that hardware during a tire change, since most of those lock washers would go flat after one use. Funny thing is thnough, the lock washers that came off when I resprayed this wheel, all of them had plenty of spring life left in them, so I re-used them

I have a pretty good idea these wheels haven't been removed since the last time the tires were replaced, and they had Y2K DOT dates on them. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if the wheel fastening hardware on there is all original. The Itralians built good stuff back in the 70's. Just sayin', and another reason to keep the original metal bits on these old scoots when you can