Any good products for removing that? I don't want to damage the powdercoating. It's in the crevices in some wheels between the hoops and the wheel centers. It's not bad but it's bugging me. I can get a brush in there. I would think that the stuff for chrome wheels would eat into the powdercoating. Thanks in advance!

Bummer, what about steel wool on the tip of a screw driver??

I think that would cut or gouge into the powdercoating.

I've never had this problem with wheels I've painted, by the way. On my chromed steel trailer wheels, if it's going to sit outside, I spray WD40 on the wheels, and they've stayed mint for over 15 years. Should have done that with these too, I guess.

Depending on how bad the surface rust is, perhaps dip a rag in EvapoRust and lay in the affected area. I have had good results on overnight flash rust by just wiping down with a EvapoRust soaked rag. Regardless of treatment, key question is how to protect after rust removal.

Who carries EvapoRust? Worth a try. I can't think of a wheel cleaner that would be OK for this problem on a powdercoated surface, but I could be wrong.

http://www.evapo-rust.com/wheretobuyit/

Thanks for the link; AutoZone & O'Reilly's carry it. I'm off to the store! I'll let you guys know if it works.

I've used evaporust to clean out the seam on rallye wheels with great results. When I'm done I paint brush a little PPG DX metal cleaner in the groove, and then pour a little DP epoxy primer in there and roll it around.

On a standard steel mopar wheel with the 4 small openings the evaporust would just run out the sides and not do anything. You can take some clay and cram it into corners to create a small dam that will keep the evaporust in place. In order for it to work the area has to be sumbmerged in it for several hours.

Steve,Muratic acid,it's cheap and will take it right off,however don't let the container sit around opened,the fumes will actually form rust on bare metal that is within ten feet.If you have any rags with it on when you're done get rid of them,better to do them outside (if it's not too cold or the snow isn't too deep ) ,let it on for ten or fifteen minutes and then give them a "GOOD" washing.

...Muratic acid has a way of rusting everything with in 10' "even with the lid back on"!!!

Bill, you think muriatic acid will be OK on powdercoat?
Apparently O'Reilly's up here in the woods isn't allowed to get EvapoRust, so I grabbed some CLR out of curiosity.

The problem you're facing is a result of the difficulty of getting powder into the narrow spots between rim and hub. Since powder is applied electrostatically, the powder has a positive charge on it when it leaves the spray gun and is attracted to the metal surface which is grounded, so you have the natural positive wanting to go to ground reaction. Once you have a coat of positively charged powder on the adjacent surfaces there's a natural repelling action. The same problem is experienced in tight corners, channels, etc. If you dwell too long you end up with the coating getting too thick and not looking as good as it should once cured. Often the result is a heavy orange peel look. Anyway, having said all that you end up with unpainted surfaces down there and that's why the rust.

A good applicator will turn the KV down on the spray gun and paint the channel areas 1st to minimize the coverage issue. There are also different tips for the spray gun that can help lay powder in a tight space, but you're still fighting the laws of physics.

There's a secondary issue with painting used steel rims too. Road grime gets lodged into those tight cavities and is just about impossible to clean out. When the painted rim goes into the cure oven, the heat will often cause the contaminates to react and sometimes you'll see little blister like formations down in the crevise. This can also happen during the cure cycle if the powder surface is starting to set up and contaminates 'vent' at the same time, impacting the finished appearance. We try and resist this by using powders that flow for as long as possible during cure.

Acid will definitely attack the surface. At a minimum it will reduce the gloss appreciably and possibly discolor the surface as well. Epoxy powders offer the best chemical resistance, but epoxy resins don't deal well with UV (sunlight) and discolor. Chances are your rims were painted with what's called a TGIC Polyester powder. Great UV resistance, relatively easy to apply, reasonable chemical resistance, but not enough to resist acids or aggressive cleaners any more than the clear coat on your car would.

A few years back we blasted and painted a complete set of side covers for a local Harley enthusiast. He came back later that summer mad as heck because the powder was all streaked. Turned out he'd used EZ Off oven cleaner on the engine. I asked him if he'd use that to clean his gas tank or fenders.

DuPont has a good website on their powders that explains the different chemistries and characteristics very well. Just do a search on DuPont powder coatings to learn more.

It's easier to get liquid paints to go down into the crevise, because there's no charge involved. So you've got a trade off to decide on: the powder is generally more durable than liquid, but you need to make sure your coater gets the rims as clean as possible and works to get powder into those tight spots. Good luck!