Rusty Wheel Hubs

[dings]

My Father has just had a 3 series Conv 08, the wheel hubs have a lot of rust on them, can we paint them silver if so what can we use, any advice would be welcome,
Cheers.

[steeevvvooo]

I have exactly the same issue on my Z4. I was thinking of rubbing them down (wire brush / wire wool type of thing) and repainting them either dark silver or black, something hardwearing.

Same with my calipers, which are rusty as hell!!

[belleair302]

I had my calipers and hubs painted by Phoenix Motorsport (Camberley Surrey). It is not an expensive process and makes the car look amazing. Any decent specialist or bodyshop can do a good job.

Edited by belleair302 on Monday 26th January 09:54

[trickywoo]

I use rusty hubs on newish cars as a good indicator that the owner has not bothered to wash salt off as often as they should.

[bazking69]

Or on older cars that the owner had fitted cheap ebay special discs...

[LocoBlade]

I dont think we're talking a layer of thick rust that feels like sandpaper here, just mild corroding and discolouration. If so, its nothing to do with how often salt is washed off, they're cast iron so they're going to corrode if not protected, a disc's friction surface will form rust staining within a matter of a day or two if it gets wet and isn't driven so why should the disc bell be any different when there's no pad to keep it clean every time you drive?!

Something like smooth Hammerite should sort it out though, just don't bolt the wheels on until any paint is fully dry otherwise they may be a tad tricky to remove next time you need a tyre changing!

[Trixman]

Its a very common problem, check this link ... http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=525...

[mikez328]

dings said:

My Father has just had a 3 series Conv 08, the wheel hubs have a lot of rust on them, can we paint them silver if so what can we use, any advice would be welcome,
Cheers.

4 months ago my wife had rusty nuts (No jokes please) on her Fiat Grande Punto. Fiat replaced all the wheel nuts, including the locking nuts, under warranty. IMHO they were st anyway. BMW nuts just don't rust - unless somebody has tried to take them off with the wrong wheelbrsce..... ie theives.....

After 5 BMW's in 13 years - Nuts just don't rust without reason!

[steeevvvooo]

trickywoo said:

I use rusty hubs on newish cars as a good indicator that the owner has not bothered to wash salt off as often as they should.

Seems like a common problem. Most people don’t treat their cars to a rinse after being out in the winter (I rinse my bike after every ride in the winter / wet), so I don’t see it as being “neglect” as such.


As for the brakes, it had new discs and pads 6 months ago, with a garage receipt to prove it, so at least it's not cheap discs!

[TheEnd]

I've heard of Toyota corollas being brought back with similar complaints.
It's a fact of life, they get hot and damp. It's nothing to do with rinsing, you'll see rust spots appears in less than half an hour on brake discs when washing the car from the spray of the hose.

It is however unsightly, so next time you have the wheels off, give them a quick rub with a wire brush and you can paint on some hammerite, black, silver whatever floats your boat.
I've done this to all of my BMW's, and apart from a smell of hot paint for the first week of driving around, it'll bake on and keep things looking tidier.

[dings]

Thanks for the replies I will tell him to go back to the dealer and see waht they can do.