Cub Cadet 582 with handyman parts.

[dkline]

I spent about 45 minutes with a wire brush on my corded drill. It did much to take it down to a paintable surface. I think it will take two gallons of vinegar to cover it in a 3 gallon bucket.

 

[eford]

Nice solid wheels! I hope mine will clean up that nicely before bathing.

 

[mhomrighausen]

Daniel K. I bought the vinegar from Dollar General and bought five gallons, put it in a rubber trash can and then set the rims in. The vinegar only covered one rim laying down. Your rims aren't nearly as bad as my rims. I rinsed the rims with water and set them in the sun to dry after using the air compressor to help with initial drying. Then I used Rustoleum primer that helps prevent rust. You're going to have some very nice looking rims when you're finished.

 

[mgonitzke]

You'd be so much happier with electrolysis. It will take the paint off too.

 

[dkline]

Thanks, Matt. The deal with electrolysis is that I would have to learn a new science. Vinegar is $2.50 a gallon. I don't know, but I think I would have to spend more than $5 to get set up for electrolysis.

 

[mgonitzke]

All you need is a 'dumb' 12V battery charger (as in, one old enough that doesn't shut off when it thinks your battery is shorted), a plastic container, water, a piece of sacrificial junk steel, and either TSP or washing soda.

It's quite simple; mix about 1/4 cup of washing soda/TSP per gallon of water, and put that and your wheel into a plastic tub. Put in the scrap steel (make sure a clean spot of it is protruding from solution so there is a place to connect the battery charger) and make sure the scrap piece isn't touching the wheel. Connect the positive terminal of the charger to the sacrificial piece, the negative terminal to the thing you are trying to clean, and plug in the charger. Bubbles should start forming on the piece to be cleaned, and the charger should indicate a current draw. If not, the solution is not strong enough to conduct, or there is a bad connection. Come back in a few hours and wire wheel off the remaining paint and black residue that has formed.

The solution can be reused almost indefinitely- I have been using the same 10 gallons for 2 years now to clean dozens of things.

 

[dkline]

Now see what you have done. My grey matter is jangled with all kinds of new firings because you unwittingly sent me to YouTube to watch what you just described. My neural plasticity is being exercised, yea stretched by all this.
It is a good thing I am adventuresome!

 

[mhomrighausen]

Matt G. You've turned Daniel into a mad scientist.

Daniel K. Matt's steering you onto the best way. You'll do fine once everything is setup.

 

[eford]

For the charger, is 4 amps too high? I have an old Sears that does 6/12 volts and only 4 amps. No other settings. I may end up trying both just to see the difference.

 

[mfrade]

Earl Ford, no.. it's not to much, I have an old sears like that but it does 2 and 6 amps. It works okay either way.

1 word of caution. The electrolysis process does release hydrogen gas. Setup your barrel in a ventilated area. Chances are probably remote that anything would happen but, safety first right?

 

[kmcconaughey]

Daniel, here's a link to a Thread on Electrolysis here on the forum. Be sure to check out the two archived pages within the thread.

 

[dkline]

I will use electrolysis for my next project of rust removal.
Here this winter I am limited in painting place options. My sweetheart has a sensitive nose so I cannot do it in the basement.
My greenhouse is usually warm enough yet the humidity is high. And spraying may not be good for the food crops there. So I am thinking about brushing on the paint.
Should I use a primer?
I want to have a job done that lasts for several years.

 

[mgonitzke]

Yes, you want to use primer. I would wait for warmer weather and simply paint outside. Trust me, you don't want to brush it on. You'd use about 5x the amount of paint you would if you sprayed it, and you'll likely still have a lot of flaws and brush strokes.

 

[dkline]

I took the hub out of the vinegar today. A quick easy wire brush took the whole thing down to the bare metal, no paint remaining. One exception was an area that must have had been in a bubble of air in the vinegar. I put it back into the solution til Monday in a ways to complete the job.

 

[dkline]

OK. Still not tired up.
Paint did well. Very good coverage. However, the still manufacturing nubby tire I wanted to use is too damaged in the bead for tubeless.
AND none of the places that do small tires will put a tube in it, as the placement of the valve stem is in the narrow valley and the valve stem pulls in when they inflate the tube.

I am sure I am not the first to face this issue.

SO is there a way to repair a damaged tire bead?
Is there a tube I can get that will work?
OR do I have to look for a good tire?

ARGH. I wanted to get stuff done before spring!

 

[rbeem]

Daniel,
You should be able to get a tube at most farm stores or tire stores.
I tube all of mine....every time.

You should be able to mount that yourself.
It's not much harder than a bicycle and no special tools required.

 

[eford]

I just put a tube in the other day when the weather warmed a bit. Not that hard to do. If you have trouble, let it sit in the sun a while to really soften up and should go no problem. Just need 2-3 large screw drivers

 

[dkline]

Local shop told me this rim will not take a tube.
Said it is only designed to be tubeless as when they try to pump, the valve stem pulls into the rim and cannot be fished out.
Please look at the rims pictured at the bottom of this page before you reply. I may not have the same rim you are talking about.

 

[dkline]

Technician said he had done many Cub rims and this is not like most of them. He said most are flat all the way across and do not have the deep valley on the stem side.
I have no experience to evaluate his comments.
That is why I posted the problem here.

 

[eford]

I've done this style before and have lost the tube stem inside. My 782 has that wheel on it now.
I've done them before and been just fine, the other front wheel worked out. If the stem isn't sitting exactly where it needs to be you'll lose it no matter what. Only difference in tubes I buy around here is the length of the stem. There's no repairing your tire to become tubeless again so it seems you'll have to shop for a new tire.