Protecting the spare wheel

[Tom Rae]

I have had cause to use my steel spare wheel recently, on removal (itself a tricky job) I found it was covered in rust and looked awful, especially as it stayed on all weekend :-( I have subsequently bought a new one and I am anxious to try and protect it this time, any suggestions on how I do this?

Tom

 

[Hotel California]

You could put a cover on it (like on 4x4) but think it gets wet-damp and rusty anyway .
Removing it every now and then and clean it , putting a thick layer wax on it ?
Took mine out once when Cali was fairly new just to see how it all works.
Good reminder of doing it all again...

 

[Tom Rae]

It doesn't look as if there is much room for a cover but I did wonder about wrapping it in industrial cling film?

 

[Hotel California]

It doesn't look as if there is much room for a cover but I did wonder about wrapping it in industrial cling film?

Yeah , but once moist gets under the plastic ....can't dry propperly ...rust!

 

[Hotel California]

Should not worry to much , probally never gonne use it .
If so have the flat tyre repared and put the rusty spare back underneeth there..

 

[Wongo]

Spray with cavity protector, waxy & horrible just the job

 

[Tom Rae]

Wongo, waxoyl or similar? I've got some of that

 

[phillme]

get it powder coated ... u will regret it if it's wax oiled when u come to needing it next time ...

 

[Wongo]

That’s true, powder coating is best option, never got a quote for that, any figures?

 

[Jay20cali]

That’s true, powder coating is best option, never got a quote for that, any figures?

As soon as the powder coat gets the slightest chip it will rust away under the coating,you will be back to square one but in a worse position.
Take it out once in a while and clean it .simple

 

[Tom Rae]

Powder coating is not great in my experience though it does depend on how well it was prepared and coated. It would cost about £30 for the wheel to be done however this is the first puncture I have had in years so a good coating of Waxoyl or similar should be fine.

 

[Tom Rae]

That and a regular check/wipe.

 

[WelshGas]

Spray with ACF50.

 

[Tom Rae]

Good idea, I have ACF 50 too.

 

[bigmac77]

I put two coats of rim wax on my spare once a year. Water just beads of it, it's not messy to handle should I need to use it and the wheel, now over 2 years old, is like new.

 

[Tom Rae]

Well we learn something every day (or should do) I had never heard of Rim wax but a quick Google and up it came! I will look into that too. many thanks to you all for your suggestions, plenty food for thought.

 

[briwy]

Clean it up and spray with Hammerite. Virtually indistinguishable from standard.

 

[Seán Kerr]

As soon as the powder coat gets the slightest chip it will rust away under the coating,you will be back to square one but in a worse position.
Take it out once in a while and clean it .simple

I agree. Any chip in the powder coating will result in galvanic and/or crevice corrosion. The wheel is in a position that it will almost certainly rust regardless of what you do. The odd clean would probably slow that process down.

 

[El Greco]

For this reason I went for an alloy spare. I don't know if it was a wise choice.

 

[WelshGas]

As long as the spare is functional then the worse it looks then the less likely it is to be stolen, and an alloy will be much more desirable.