Shimano R540 rust on spokes

Is it really rust on the spokes OR is it just dirt? Is the paint blistering/peeling?

Stainless steel spokes should NOT rust!

Wash the spokes, first, to see if it isn't just some dirt. You can use some Windex-type cleaner sprayed onto a paper towel ...

If it gets to where you think you want to use sandpaper, I would suggest that you use an SOS/Brillo pad OR sponge pad which is intended for teflon pans instead.

For paint (if you must), go to WalMart (really) and get a can of their less-than-$1 FLAT BLACK spray paint to refinish the spokes ... no primer should be necessary, but the spokes have to be free of grease, oil, dirt ... so, no WD-40!

jackchoo said:

hi, my R540's suffered due to being not used/maintained for 2 years. Now all the spokes have rust on them. As a weekend project, I plan to restore these wheels and use them on a soon to be restored old steel frame (road bike).

- sand them down to remove all the rust
- put on a coat of anti-rust primer
- paint them back to matt black using a small brush (original colour)

questions is, after sanding, is the wheel still 'safe' for normal use (I don't race and hardly go beyond 30km/h).

- Are the above steps reasonable?
- Is there an easier way to remove the rust? WD40?
- how should I maintain the wheels to prevent rusting after restoration? I am about 300m from the sea and its hot and humid over here!

Appreciate any thoughts/advice. Thanks in advance!

Shimano says the spokes in these wheels are black coated steel. They don't say they are stainless, so in your climate rust is likely & whatever you do will likely come back.
You could get 286 mm (the length Shimano says they are) stainless spokes to replace them. You could go as far as getting black coated stainless spokes... and even get bladed ones. If they were mine, I would skip the bladed part... and go with stainless. I used to ride along Pacific coastal roads where rust is a common enemy. Stainless spokes help keep you riding and minimize maintenance time & expenses.

FWIW. If the existing spokes are just painted steel (I didn't know ANYONE still made plain steel spokes for bicycles!), then I would replace them with (straight gauge -- personal preference) Stainless Steel spokes, too.

jackchoo said:

hi, my R540's suffered due to being not used/maintained for 2 years. Now all the spokes have rust on them. As a weekend project, I plan to restore these wheels and use them on a soon to be restored old steel frame (road bike).

- sand them down to remove all the rust
- put on a coat of anti-rust primer
- paint them back to matt black using a small brush (original colour)

questions is, after sanding, is the wheel still 'safe' for normal use (I don't race and hardly go beyond 30km/h).

- Are the above steps reasonable?
- Is there an easier way to remove the rust? WD40?
- how should I maintain the wheels to prevent rusting after restoration? I am about 300m from the sea and its hot and humid over here!

Appreciate any thoughts/advice. Thanks in advance!

I have no idea what your spokes are made of, but stainless steel will indeed rust. It depends on the specific type of stainless steel, the conditions, etc. I have boat parts including a SS propeller that get a little rust from time to time.

My MTB has stainless spokes (unpainted) and they do indeed get a little patina of rust on them. My opinion is that maybe these spokes are lower quality, but the SS prop on my outboard that gets a little rust from time to time certainly isn't low quality or cheap. Regardless, it's not a big deal and is easy to remove.

It was recommended to me and I in turn recommend to you not to use sandpaper or steel wool to remove the rust. Use a common kitchen 3M type scrub pad. I also have some white 3-M pad, very fine, that I use on the bottom of my XC skis and it works well and is very mild in terms of abrasiveness. Don't use the real tough heavy duty 3M stuff used for stripping paint, but just the mild ones used in the kitchen. It removes rust from stainless steel spokes very readily and easily and polishes them up. If you want it wouldn't hurt to use a little WD40, but I don't think it's necessary and would make subsequent painting harder.

You might consider just removing the rust with the scrub pad and leavin as-is. I buff up my spokes every year or so when I notice they look a little orange. If you want them back to the original painted look, you'll have to get all the rust completely off, clean off any residue and/or oils completely, prime and paint. Just look for a primer suitable for stainless steel. I don't know if it would be anything special, but make sure it will work on SS. Then, you'd just use any spray enamel or brush on product of your choosing.

alfeng said:

Stainless steel spokes should NOT rust!

There are many grades of "stainless steel", all with various levels of environmental resistance to corrosion. Some poorer grades can indeed rust badly if the environmental condition isn't ideal. Higher grade SS can be quite expensive.

sogood said:

There are many grades of "stainless steel", all with various levels of environmental resistance to corrosion. Some poorer grades can indeed rust badly if the environmental condition isn't ideal. Higher grade SS can be quite expensive.

Good to know ... thanks (also, Camilo) for clarifying.

alfeng} [b said:

Stainless steel spokes should NOT rust![/b]

The spokes are just steel, not the stainless pedigree, unfortunately....and its definitely rust. I tried a small area with a sandpaper and clearing up the rust seems not too difficult but a bit a laborious and slow (there are many spokes!!!!).

Not quite sure a soft scrub will work though, I'm guessing using this kind of less abrasive (much less) may not be able to remove the rust and even if it can, prolly takes a long time!!

will using WD40 and a soft scrub work easier. Can Autosol remove rust too? I have quite a few grades of sandpaper available, autosol and WD40 as well. OK, I can probably steal one of those kitchenware scrubs too from my wife 😄

The project that you are embarking on is time and labor intensive. If I were in your position, I would replace the spokes, or at least disassemble the wheel in order to clean the spokes. My biggest worry would be how badly the spokes were rusted and how much this rust may have weakened them. If you don't want to rebuild the wheels or have them rebuilt, then I would use a scotchbrite pad rather than sand paper, and only lightly buff them. I would also spray paint them rather than paint them by hand. All of this would be much easier if the spokes were off the wheel than on the wheel.

sogood said:

There are many grades of "stainless steel", all with various levels of environmental resistance to corrosion. Some poorer grades can indeed rust badly if the environmental condition isn't ideal.

It's also a question of the tooling used. If you haven't got your workshop hygiene under control and is using the same buffing/polishing wheel for SS as for ordinary steel you can get enough transfer for rust to appear on a SS part that wouldn't otherwise rust.

jackchoo said:

Can Autosol remove rust too?

It can, but it's usually seen as a polishing compound a few notches above tooth paste in abrasiveness. If the rust is only a surface discoloration it should do fine, if the rust is thick enough to form scabs or deep enough to have pitted the surface it's just too mild. Not that I'd be ready to to do anything but bin them if I came up against pitted spokes...

jackchoo said:

...clearing up the rust seems not too difficult but a bit a laborious and slow

I'd go with something like a brillo pad or steel wool anyhow, fold it around the spoke and run it the length of the spoke a few times. If that doesn't do the trick I'd consider anything more to be flogging a dead horse.

If you insist on continuing to use these low-end bits you might consider disassembling the wheel, which should make it far easier to polish up the spokes again. But then you'd have to be willing to face the challenge of rebuilding the wheel of course.

jackchoo said:

I have quite a few grades of sandpaper available,

with sandpaper odds are that you'll be adding a lot of scratches that might make the spokes even more prone to rusting in the future. Then again, it'd be a nice surface prep for a paint job.

jackchoo said:

..I'm guessing using this kind of less abrasive (much less) may not be able to remove the rust and even if it can, prolly takes a long time!!

Well, it might, but only if you let it. Considering the price of shiny new straight pull spokes I wouldn't be prepared to spend more than maybe half a minute on each spoke unless I'm building up something really special.

jackchoo said:

will using WD40 and a soft scrub work easier.

It might just do that. If you fold a sandpaper around the spoke and run it upside down you get a lot of concentrated action that's likely to clog the paper. Using something with a bit of volume(brillo pad, steel wool etc) and a lube offers the ground-off bits someplace to move instead of clogging the contact area.

i used an 800 grit sand paper on one spoke and it appear quite easy to remove the rust....not much real pressure required, just lightly give a portion a couple of passes and I can already see the metal part. Ok, I'll try the brillo pads later, I think it will work..

Just got myself a can of red-oxide primer (spray) and dull black spray before i realized "how the hell am i supposed to spray paint the inside facing portion of the bladed spoke??".....

i'd brush it with some rust converter to make sure not the slightest rust will be left after the sanding and before the primer if you intend on paiting them. this will prevent from rusting again in a short time

Try Naval Jelly. It is a rust remover. Just make sure the label doesn't say to keep it away from aluminum or brass (nipples) or you could ruin the wheel.

800 grit will not take any appreciable material off. I would worry, though, that the rust itself had left a pit which could lead to a starting point for a crack. I have ridden lightly rusty spokes but just wouldn't trust a badly rusted one.

used 1500 grit paper and was able to remove the rust quite easily too! funny thing is that using thie grade of paper, after sanding off the rust, i could still see the original black paint.....the rust form ON TOP of the paint???

jackchoo said:

used 1500 grit paper and was able to remove the rust quite easily too! funny thing is that using thie grade of paper, after sanding off the rust, i could still see the original black paint.....the rust form ON TOP of the paint???

If the spokes were not coated with primer prior to painting, then the paint will have pores, or very tiny holes, that will allow the metal below the paint to become exposed to moisture and begin to oxidize, or rust. The oxidation will seep back up through the pores. What you have done is removed surface rust, but you will still have some oxidation going on beneath the paint.

Ok managed to finish up the front wheel over the weekend.....

Stuff used :
- Red Primer Spray (USD3)
- Dull black Spray (USD3)
- Brillo Pads (pack of 4, USD1.5)
- 1500 grit Sandpaper (i have some in stock but they are cheap)
- Surgical Spirit (or alcohol can also be used)
- Rag (free)

- taped up the wheel (spent a good 30-40 mins doing this!)
- used brillo pads and rubbed the spokes until no trace of rust is found, the pad can even remove the original paint!
- after sanding, wiped down the spokes with a cloth and surgical spirit (or alcohol)
- immediately went on to spray on the red (oxide) primer
- wait 1 - 2 hrs to dry, then spray another coat
- next day, lightly sanded down the primer-ed spokes with 1500grit sand paper to smoothen some bumps in the paint etc (okay I not a pro...), wipe off residue
- spray dull black paint (2 coats, 2 hrs in between)

Results : must say I'm pretty happy with the results....just that had to spend an hour touching up the sides with black paint (connect points to the wheel).

Disclaimer : while its a nice DIY, if the spokes are TOO RUSTED, the spoke strength may have already been compromised....check with fellow forumers!

I attach some pics.....