Sealing banded steels?

[Robinxr4i]

Hello folks,

I've recently got some wheels banded through JamesP, mega happy with the quality of work and how they look. Now I had planned to get them shot blasted and powered coated but this is looking like an increasingly expensive option So I've decided to paint them myself, once I've cleaned off the rust.

My only concern is the air tightness of the welds. I've always heard people say you need to seal the welds with something to make them air tight.

What am I supposed to use?

Photo of said wheels.....



Thanks Robin

[adamb]

Proper bodywork sealant such as tiger seal is what has been recommended to me

You can use silicone, but over time and fitting tyres etc it will deteriorate

[usedabused]

I have had two sets done by James and a third on there way but never had any issue's with leakage,

I just prep and paint the entire wheel inside and out and they have always been fine..


Any ways were are the pics of what's awaiting these fine rims??

[craig1010cc]

I had 1 small leak from one of JamesP rims. What I did was use a rubberised stone chip (2 coats) over the new steel and the welds followed by a coat of paint. On the leak, I cleaned it back, and mixed up some araldite and spread that over the area. No further problems.

[cobblers]

+1 for stonechip - a few thick coats of this works great:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Stonechip-black-spray-can-aerosol-Hammerite-600ml-gaurd-chip-proofing-waxoyl-/171018639302?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item27d18157c6

I used two cans for 6 wheels, the sealed perfectly.

[Robinxr4i]

Apr 6, 2013 10:37:52 GMT adamb said:

Proper bodywork sealant such as tiger seal is what has been recommended to me

Excellent I'll go with that!

Apr 6, 2013 10:49:38 GMT usedabused said:

I have had two sets done by James and a third on there way but never had any issue's with leakage,

I just prep and paint the entire wheel inside and out and they have always been fine..


Any ways were are the pics of what's awaiting these fine rims??

I'm sure they will be fine, I just don't want to go to the hassle of preping and painting them to find I have to take them off and do the job twice.

They destined for my Chevette, to replace the Wellers that are now residing on Mark Bognors Micra. Photo of said car before it got SORN'd.

With the wheels back I can crack on with it. Plus the weather is looking much better ;D

[cobblers]

If you're going to use a seam sealing product, use a brushable one:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Body-Panel-Joint-Seam-Sealer-Brushable-1ltr-/370460652175?pt=UK_Body_Shop_Supplies_Paint&hash=item56412cf28f

Tigerseal is more of an adhesive really, you'd have a right job trying to spread it over the welds and get it somewhat even, plus you'd use abut three tubes!

[adamb]

I didn't say use seam sealer did I?

Seam sealer won't be airtight under pressure

[RobinJI]

I know Ryan did one of his Granada's with Evo-stik 'serious stuff adhesive' at the last A52 weekend and as far as I know it held out fine. You basically just need something gunky/non-brittle that's strongly adhesive. Tigerseal/evo-stik etc should work fine, stick a little washing up liquid on your fingers and spread it around by hand and you should be able to get it pretty neat. As said, silicon's not really ideal as it's not adhesive enough and will peel off given time.

Seam sealer may well work fine, but it'd depend on the brand, some of the stuff I've used's not really been adhesive enough for this sort of thing.

[bigjohn]

I used this stuff

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261145360921?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1439.l2649

worked so far, wheels been on for a month, and no leaks

[phillipm]

They should be airtight on the welds, ally sometimes is porous around a weld, but steel should be fine unless there's a pinhole or two.

Even if there is, a good coat of primer/paint should sort the pinholes out.

[damageandy]

lowrider guys with spoked wheels just use a decent silicone sealer/adhesive, and they are much harder to seal up due to a 100 spokes inside the rim, personally ill be using tiger seal or similar when replacing a few spokes in my wires.

[moggyman]

I've never tried it, but how about the rim tape they sell for wire wheels? After all, it was designed to keep wheels air tight.

[GavinJ]

I brushed a decent quality seam sealer on mine, went on nice and tidy and no problems so far.

[waveman1500]

Apr 7, 2013 13:13:08 GMT moggyman said:

I've never tried it, but how about the rim tape they sell for wire wheels? After all, it was designed to keep wheels air tight.

Actually no, rim tapes are designed to prevent the spokes from putting holes in your tubes. The inner tubes keep the air in!

[dodgerover]

Having seen photos of the welding on JamesP wheels why not give them a decent coat of paint on the inside and try them. Were they originally designed to run tubeless or with tubes?

[jamesp]

i use brushable seam sealer ive ran a few sets with nothing at all but then ive has one wheel with a slow puncture and that was a pain in the so now there all seam sealed before i get tires spun on

[welshpug]

get the set powdercoated, its not that expensive!