Hitchcocks Forum

Good morning all

My Enfields, an indian import, wheels are looking rather tired. The chrome is looking shabby and the spokes are a bit rusty looking given they are not stainless or chromed.

Does anyone have any helpful tips for making them look pretty again? Im not in the market for splashing out £££ just get it looking presentable and have a giggle on

One idea was getting them powder coated?

cheers, Adam

Clean/polish them with Aluminium foil+Coke, then rub them over with oily rag

Or very fine steel wool and Waxhoyl.

powder coating chips more easily when using only tyre irons to mount a tire.

a tyre mounting machine is almost a necessity.



polyurethane coating is a bit more flexible, care should still be taken when using only tyre irons with this.

I you're after a cheap solution,,,,,, get yourself a tin of Aluminium paint and a brush. It won't last forever but it's cheap and quick to re-apply,,,,,

Oily rag. Scrub up and wipe with oil, 3-in-1 works quite well because it goes sticky and stays there but any oil will do. Stops rust.

The spoke nipples were showing rust spore, now they're not.



Not tried Waxoyl on visible surfaces but that should work nicely too.



I've had a bicycle frame shot blasted and powder coated with a result you could take a hammer to without chipping it, I guess it depends on how well it is done.

The chrome has started to blister but Ill give the foil and coke a go.

cheers gents.

When I were a lad, and bicycle wheels were made of cheap chromed steel rather than posh alloy, common advice was to smear thinly with vaseline, especially during the winter. I've also used some tallow I had sitting around on some lucas-type indicators that were rusting before my eyes, and that seemed to work.

Tallow is an animal fat, it contains water. Correct lube for metals is oil, grease is oil mixed with 'soap'. Correct lube for plastics is petroleum jelly (Vaseline), or silicone oil/grease..



To rust proof the back wheel, oil the chain liberally and take it out for a ride.

I didn't know about the water content, but tallow has a long history of use for protection against corrosion, and is apparently still popular amongst woodworkers for their tools. It certainly works. Maybe in the process of going rancid it removes oxygen from the goo. Lanolin is also popular for marine use, although it isn't strictly an animal fat. You can buy a rustproofing fluid called Rams Oil which is lanolin based.