However over time they do go rusty and become horrific looking, detracting from the car and your shiny wheels. Rusty drums are beyond not sexy, they are rotating brown blobs of horrendous metal that must be rectified!
Any vehicle with drums that are unpainted will benefit from a quick clean up. Its very in-expensive, requires little work and makes quite a dramatic difference to how the rear wheels look. If nothing else it will stop rusty run off, dust and metal fall out from covering the rear wheels, saving cleaning work and potentially wheel refurb in the long run.
The following covers preparing and painting the fiestas rear drums, all paint, cleaners, brushes etc were sourced from Poundland and the 99p store!
Last of the big spenders me!
Items for the job:
Metal paint, dark grey hammered finish for that retro look (Poundland straight to metal paint)
Degreaser (Elbow grease 99p store)
Strong solvent (Poundland nail varnish remover)
Wire brushes (Poundland)
Cheap pack of paint brushes (Poundland)
Starting point
So to begin with we do the obvious, crack the wheel nuts off, jack the car up and support it on axle stands.
Ensure the car is solidly supported before removing the wheels and storing out of the way. Tucked under the sills is a good place just in case something goes wrong with the stands.
DO NOT DROP A CAR ON YOURSELF & IF YOU DO; DO NOT BLAME ME!
Just thought I'd throw that out there, its frightening what some people regard as "Securely supported"
Before:
Here's a rusty drum, not very exciting as if you are reading this I'm sure you have two of your own.
Stage 1 - Removing loose rust and dirt:
So as everybody knows, painting is all about preparation. We can take a few liberties as we are working with fairly forgiving, direct to rust paint. However we want the finish to look good so we need to shift all the loose rust and crud first.
Break out the wire brush and go thoroughly round the drum and angled edge, do not do the wheel contact area as we cant see that part and the copper slip or other anti seize compound would be a nightmare to clean off.
This area should be mostly rust free as its protected by the wheel and copper slip or similar.
Ensure you brush off any part you intend to paint, try not to brush debris in between the drum lip and the hub. It probably wont cause any problems but may make nasty grinding noises for a while till it gets ground down.
Stage 2 - Degrease:
Take your preferred degreaser, not the solvent at this stage and spray on the areas you have brushed. Applying large amounts up close will help to blast any remaining loose contaminants off.
Leave to dwell on one drum while you work on the other and then return to the first. You may want to use one of your cheap paint brushes to work the degreaser into the drum to shift any stubborn dirt. Then spray on more solution and allow to run off.
The picture above shows a nice puddle of degreaser forming on the drive after running off the drum. Remember to rotate the drum while working to ensure you don't miss spots.
Don't allow the degreaser to dry out on the drum, we want to keep any unwanted grease or particulates in solution so they will wash off.
Stage 3 - Wash down:
So with most of the nasties removed from the drums, we need to clean away the degreaser as paint does not react well to most liquids, especially degreasers. We also want to wash away any other stubborn contaminants, which is where the solvent comes in.
You could use various chemicals for this stage such as Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA), brake cleaner, acetone, xylene, body shop pre paint cleaners. Basically it has to be a strong solvent that will evaporate without leaving any residue that could prevent a good paint finish.
PLEASE USE SOLVENTS SAFELY - AVOID NAKED FLAMES, SMOKING, CONFINED SPACES, LACK OF VENTILATION EXCESS INHALATION, SMALL CHILDREN, WILDLIFE, POND LIFE... blah blah blah you get the message I hope :).
Above you can see the washed down drum, with a brownish puddle underneath where the solvent has removed rust particles etc.
Allow the solvent to dry out completely before proceeding any further, on a warm day the solvent will evaporate faster, the puddle underneath will give an indication of how things are progressing.
Here we can see the solvent mostly dry, the drum has less sheen and there is less contrast between the different areas of the drum where they have corroded at different rates. Also the puddle beneath the drum is visibly drying out.
Do not rush this stage, paint likes solvents even less than it likes de-greaser. While its drying go have a coffee, a snack, take a nap or do something else to pass the time.
Stage 4 - Painting:
Finally we are at the main event, having done the preparation properly the painting should be quick and easy.
I went with two coats, the paint I used said about an hour between coats, but as it was one of the few warm days we have had this year I think it was closer to 30 minutes, if that.
Take care not to splash the stuff on yourself or the car, usual paint rules apply. Don't overload the brush, watch out for runs and as its a metal paint don't over brush areas that have started to cure.
There's the first coat on, looking better aleady. Don't forget to do the edge of the drum and the lip of the hub.
Second coat on and starting to dry nicely. I would recommend leaving as long as possible before refitting wheels just in case. The most likely issue with putting the rims on too quickly is dirt or dust coming off the wheel and settling into the wet paint which would look nasty.
Stage 5 - Refitting Wheels
Having allowed time for the paint to dry, add anti-sieze to the contact face of the wheel hub. Its important to cover anywhere that touches the drum as the copper slip will help prevent any stray spots of paint on the drum sticking to the wheel hub.
Once the wheels are back, lower down, torque up the nuts and admire your work.
Ensure you leave the recommended full drying time before you drive the vehicle so paint doesn't come flying off all over the place.
Results:
I was very pleased with the looks afterwards, a massive improvement over the rust that was there before.
As my drums have been on for around 60,000 miles, and I like the look, for me a hammered finish was the way to go. On newer drums or with more preparation work there's no reason not to use a smooth finish paint.
Cost wise it can be done for very little as this has shown, its a very quick job and will help to keep the wheels cleaner.
