Cleaning up an old Aluminum motorcycle rim

What do you guys use?

I was thinking non chlorinated brake cleaner so I bought some, but some say Oven Cleaner, Vinegar.
I do not want nothing shiny or that sticks out.

I will snap some pictures for ya'll.
Cell phone needs to charge.

The only bad parts are the tube holes, rusted steel from valve and whatever else the other hole is.
I got drill wire brush, 4.5" lapped sander pads for grinder but I really dont want to do much work on it. The most work I will do is on the inside of the rim, looks worse then it is.

Pics in 5 boys n girls

markz said:

whatever else the other hole is.

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rim lock

amberwolf said:

markz said:

whatever else the other hole is.

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rim lock

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Yup tyvm

I got some 800 and 600 grit sandpaper I will take to the rusty area, along with the wire brush wheel and go hard at it on the inside of the rim.

I did around the valve and the lock with some 320 and 800 grit, came off nicely.
Sprayed the inside of of the rim with brake clean, took off the surface stuff.
The outside of the rim will be the next job. Spoke holes are 7.00 to 7.15mm in diameter so will use dremel tool.
Holmes Hobby nip heads are 9.5mm in dia













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Never really realized how useless the dremel tool is.


Time to up the power and move to the drill.

If you use those cheap "harbor freight" style wire wheels, you better put on eye, face, and body protection, cuz the wires are going to go flying and embed themselves in things.

Even at low speeds, using them with enough pressure to actually brush even loose stuff off (much less scrub a surface) flings off wires easily.

I know what you mean though A.W. the shitty dremel wire brush, had wires coming off. I've never really like them dremel tools. The mid-step would be a digrinder, perhaps next year for Christmas I will buy myself one for wife to wrap.

I used Mastercraft for the drill, the disc and the end brush to get into the nipple holes.
Worked great, no wires came off.
Cheap $50 Alum. rim, no need for expensive new stuff, she's pretty straight too, no dings, no wobbles.


Here are some pictures. The first pic I went a little too hard.
I haven't decided what I want to do with the inside of the rim, I do not want flashy, do a purposely shitty paint job on it!


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The spokes I need are 108mm which is what HH sells with his moped nips.

markz said:

I've never really like them dremel tools.

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Actual Dremel tools are pretty good (at least the original, like my decades-old unit). Crappy clones are...crappy.

The mid-step would be a digrinder, perhaps next year for Christmas I will buy myself one for wife to wrap.

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I think one of the tools I have is a "die grinder"; old B&D I think. But it is *only* high speed, so there's many things I can't do with it, many tools that would either break, or they'd damage the item being used on, at that speed. The adjustable-speed Dremel is much more versatile, though it does not have as much power behind it.

amberwolf said:

markz said:

I've never really like them dremel tools.

Click to expand...

Actual Dremel tools are pretty good (at least the original, like my decades-old unit). Crappy clones are...crappy.

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I use one to trim my right big toenail which is too thick and curved to get any clipper on. :lol: