So those crappy old wagon wheels I scored for a Franklin got the royal treatment today. I took them to Gainey's Sandblasting in Linden NC today to be prepared for paint. (Gainey's does great work for reasonable money and is a heck of a nice guy to boot, (910) 980-0621)



At the blaster



All cleaned up



In Rustoleum etching primer



Sealer by Rustoleum



VHT Cast Iron Gray enamal





In the oven one at a time to cure at 200* for an hour



Next stop? Mount up my 37" MTRS

 

Good job, I love the way blasting cleans up old parts.

 

I would of used some epoxy prime then some primer surfacer before the paint to fill in the pitted rims. Unless that is wrinkle finish paint you used?

 

It is natural wrinkles.

These wheels are from the 70s, the pits add character LOL and sanding filler primer on these did not interest me.

 

I had the same type wagon wheel rims on my first 1978 F150 that I bought in 1990. I wire wheeled them then used 6 coats of Krylon gold paint then topped it off with 4 coats of clear. Those darn things still look decent 25 years and 3 owners later....

Yours look great!

 

I'm surprised how good they came out. I honestly didn't think they were worth saving. Great job.

 

They are perfectly straight with no wobble at all when spun. Interestingly they are hub-centric while my much newer and more expensive aluminum wheels on the truck right now are not. Love the 70s nostalgia of these wheels and they are different in style and color from the black ProComps everyone around here seems to be using. Thanks for the compliments gentlemen.

 

Those wheels look good! Can't wait see them mounted on the truck.

 

My buddy, when I sent him the pic of the finished product, asked me where I got the cool wheels. He did not believe they were the ones I got last month LOL.

 

What's the plan for center caps. The old school chrome ones with some chrome lug nuts?

 

I have chrome extra long nuts on my wheels now and I guess i will use them. I would rather have some cadmium plated open end acorns though, I love a real industrial/mechanical look like that. No center caps, just going to let the front and rear hubs shine through in all their 1 ton goodness....painted of course.

 

Those are LUG centric. Dead give away is the taper at the lug holes.

Hub centric has a Flat lug hole and uses a washed style lug nut

 

That is simply not true. Hub-centric means the center of the wheel is sized to fit perfectly on the axle or hub. This means that the vertical weight and force of the vehicle is born by the center of the wheel because it is sized perfectly for it's mount. It is not necessarily an interference fit but a very close tolerence. Lug nut design has nothing to do with it. While I know Ford lug nuts are flat based, GM lugnuts are tapered and the wheels are certainly hub-centric.

These wheels fit tightly on my hubs. A center cap would not even fit.

I appreciate the input Brad but I have been to countless steering and suspension classes and had a lifelong career as an alignment/steering/suspension/wheel and tire tech and have every certification you can have in that area. But if that does not do it for you, here are some quotes from the web:

Hub-Centric:

Nearly all OEM Wheels are designed to be hub-centric. The automaker designs an OEM wheel to fit on a certain car or range of cars. The center bore of the wheel is sized to fit perfectly onto the axle of that car. This is a hub-centric connection, as the wheel is centered by it's connection to the axle hub. The lugnuts hold the wheel firmly to the mounting plate, but it is the wheel-to-axle connection that actually holds the weight of the car. This is quite an important distinction, as the lugnuts are designed to handle lateral forces that push the wheel away from the mounting plate. The forces that the hub and center bore connection are designed to withstand – the weight of the car forcing downward and impacts forcing upward – are at right angles to the forces that the lugnuts are designed for.


From TSW

Hub-Centric
Hub-centric wheels are normally found on all factory-made vehicles. Automakers will design their OEM wheels to fit a specific vehicle or range of vehicles using a specific wheel bore size. This wheel bore is engineered to fit exactly onto the axle of a given vehicle, creating a hub-centric connection. A hub-centric connection is where the center of the wheel is connected directly to the axle hub. Lug nuts are used here to connect and secure the wheel to the mounting plate. In a hub-centric design, the wheel-to-axle connection actually bears the weight of the car as well as forces acting on the wheel upwards and downwards. Lug nuts are used to withstand the lateral forces while the car is in motion that push and pull the wheel to and away from the mounting plate.

From Ebay Motors

Lug-Centric
A great deal of aftermarket wheel companies make wheels that have a center bore with a larger hub diameter in order to fit a wide range of vehicles. If the hub diameter is too small for a larger axle, it will not fit the given vehicle. So, aftermarket companies will often create large hub diameters to ensure that their wheels can be used for a larger variety of applications. Due to the larger size of the wheel’s hub diameter, there is empty space between the axle and the hub. This means that the wheel is centered by the lugs instead of the hub, making the fitment lug-centric.

Due to the fact that most aftermarket wheels have larger hub diameters, companies will offer small hub-centric rings as an option. These metal or plastic rings are made in a large range of sizes and can be installed inside the wheel hub so that the fitment is hub-centric instead of lug-centric.



From Eibach, notice the tapered lugs in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OPjnYlXlu0#t=63

 

I can copy an past a bunch of stuff I found on the internet too, but that doesnt make it true

 

My truck's wheels are lug centric... and look like this wheel with conical housing lug...
But the center of wheels are not perfectly to fit on axle