[jbrewer]

Maybe it's because I live in the south and maybe it's because most of the tractors that I buy most sane people would part out, BUT, darned if so many of the front wheels I run into are rotted out with rust.


I tried cutting rotted pieces out and welding in patches. The patches I formed out of similar steel fit really well, BUT this process reminds me that I became an electronics engineer, not a welder. The widely varying thickness of the rot-from-within rusty wheels are unforgiving for an untalented wire welder as I am.

Anyway, I found what seems to be a good solution for preventing additional rust after cleaning the always-rusty inside part of a cub wheel--- spray undercoating.

The wire wheel(s) in an air drill do a good job of removing rust...and loose rusty metal. I then spray with some of the "rust reformer" spray stuff, which I've used before . It's usually a flat black thin spray that really does seem to prevent rust from reappearing or progressing on wire-brushed rusty patches. There's a chemical process with this, that neutralizes the rust process, so the description says, and I believe it.

Then I've used spray can undercoating. This stuff covers thickly dries fast and really seals well. Its also just a bit rubbery so it sticks really well.

Whoever buys my cubs after I croak can share whether it's a good long term solution, but I'm pretty sure it's much better than the coat of almond paint that it came from the factory with.

Not rocket science, but it seems to work well