MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Restoring rostyles

I have been thinking about wheels of late. I want to keep the Rostyles if possible, I like them (not mine specifically as they are rather tatty), so I looked at getting them blasted and painted by a pro. ~£50-60 a wheel!!! I suddenly realise why everyone swaps to minilites!

So now I am thinking about doing them myself.

There are loads of pictures and advice about doing the front face. But what I am wondering is should I be planning to do anything about the insides? 1. The hub mounting face "inside" and 2. The under the tyre "inside".

Thoughts on a postcard and any other tips for doing the outside for that matter much appreciated. I might get cracking on the spare this weekend.

Thanks all,
Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

That's a lot, our local blaster was that for a set but finished in primer. (I have four spare rusty ones for the final frontier project). A local spray shop pointed me at them. They are a bit in the middle of nowhere so take on all sorts. Maybe that's the type of outfit you need to find?
Dave Squire

Malc,
If you do them then I suggest that you add some suitable filler to the gaps that show on the front face where the centre piece is welded to the outer wheel well. Once all cleaned up this needs some paint or rust converter sprayed deep into the gap first, and then a finger full of a metal based filler smeared around the gap to prevent dirt and moisture lingering in there. Many years ago I did a set of Rostyles and only thought about this on the last 2 wheels. And the following years' of real-life testing showed that those with the extra filler treatment certainly looked and lasted better, and were easier to clean.
Guy Weller

Soda blasting seems to be quite popular. Grit blasting Rostyles causes grit to be embedded within the gaps which is a real pain to remove, and as Guy says, steps should be taken to prevent water ingress to make the refurb last.
Soda has the advantage that it is water soluable so can be washed out of any gaps. The downside is it is more expensive.

Rob
Rob aka MG Moneypit

Agreed thats ALOT of money for painting them

And repainting them is NOT the reason people ditch them for minilites, the big reason to replace them, is the wheel is a 3 part welded wheel, fine for 1968, but modern wheels are so much smoother and performance much greater as they are a 1 solid piece of aluminum easy to balance and just dosnt go bad.


The way to do the old roysle, washen then have them soda blasted then have them powder coated. A shop up the road from me that does only powder coating sajd $20 each and have them returned the next day, great price, but I went a differant direction

If you do them your self... clean clean clean is the key word, you cant get them clean enough, id probably use POR 15 paint, or hammerite as a 2nd choice....nothing of the general store shelves as its good for 6 months

Look into beauty rings also, they make the roystle just pop in my opinion

But yeah...
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

I part exchanged mine for refurbished ones with the MGOC about 3 years ago - fully finished £45.00 each. The ones you trade in have to be serviceable.
I did the spare last year. I rang around, found a small outfit near me, shot blast & repaint £50.00 I did the black bit myself
Nigel Axtell

All a matter of opinion, Malcolm, but I think they look a lot better painted all silver and leaving off the black, which to me makes them look like circus wagon wheels. Doing all one color saves a lot of trouble and makes the car more serious looking. As I said, just opinion.

If you are not too picky, you don't have to have them blasted. You can just wire brush (power hopefully) and then some sand paper and Scotch Brite, pressure wash and then paint.

I also agree with Prop on the looks of the beauty rings.

Charley
C R Huff

Have you finished the bodywork Malcolm? ;)

I have to disagree with Prop and Charley, beauty (bling) rings are not clever or beautiful and all silver just looks wrong....

45GBP (can't find a pound sign on this Spanish keyboard I'm using at the mo!) per wheel is what was paid to have my sons alloys blasted and painted in Fife (good job to).

To answer the questions on the inside... hub side and the tyre bead section should be done the same as the outside to prevent/slowdown rusting (expect the bead section to be damaged when you put tyres on!). The rest of the tyre side technically doesn't need anything as it should be in "dry air" but I would paint the lot in primer and silver.

If you don't have a steady hand for painting the black or want a sprayed finish then look at the painting kits available with templates.

Best of....
MGmike

M McAndrew

Blasted, undercvoated all over and painted two-tone then lacquered.

Nick Nakorn

you can buy them already done from MGOC for fifty quid
dominic clancy

I shall continue the hunt... Or just get my grinder out and do it myself.

Wasn't sure if MGOC still did them as they no longer list them on their website or in their catalogues.

Yes Mike, I am actually getting there :-)

Malc.
M Le Chevalier

Buy before even thinking of doing it, you have to make sure they aren't bent, and the stud holes are good.

I resisted minilites, but now I have them on the Sprite, I think they look quite good, albeit common.

However, personally, I still prefer the simple humble plain steel and hub cap.
Lawrence Slater

You can always paint them body colour...

Dave O'Neill 2

Or a contrasting colour...

Dave O'Neill 2

I can supply wheels finished in the correct silver for £35 each they are done at the company that supplies the trade. Contact me on 01332 510130 or 07749838528.
rj woolley

Malcolm

You may find someone who is swapping to minlites who has a less tatty set for sale, meaning you could keep the old set for garage work or put a set of winter tyres on them (as long as the wheels are straight and mounting holes are OK, as others have said).

Richard's offer sounds promising if you do not fancy the DIY route. Richard, can you post some pictures of your refurbished Rostyles please?

Cheers
Mike
M Wood


another approach to consider is a product available here in the states. I don't know if it is sold in the UK. EVAPORUST is a rust remover liquid. You would soak the wheels or several hours and rinse with water. The areas where the pieces join together can hold rust even after blasting and show up sometime after painting. The only downside is being creative with the container to minimize the amount of liquid. It doesn't effect plastic so you can build a hump to take up the space of the backside of the wheel using some sheet plastic. I haven't used this for wheels, but have for brake backing plates, MC boxes, suspension parts and countless bolts. I should have bought it in a larger size container. years ago. It is $22.00 a gallon and reusable.
J Bubela

Body color on wheels does not look half bad, I like it better then the silver

thanks dave

Prop
Prop and the Blackhole Midget

I can vouch for the quality of everything I have had from Rich Woolley, and his prices are very fair
dominic clancy

Malcolm,
personally I don't think just silver painted (without the black) Rostyles look good on a car, that's how my car was when I first got it (it should have had Cosmic wheels on but that's yet another story)

I suppose the body colour of the car could make a difference but I'm not convinced

here's my car with the badly powder coated silver Rostyles

(do ya like the concours positioning of the wheel nuts, tyre valves, wheels and tyres !!)

Nigel Atkins

Nigel, I think they look pretty good.
Nick Nakorn

Nick,
that's a case of a photo telling a thousand lies the finish on them wasn't anywhere near good
Nigel Atkins

Thanks for all the thoughts everyone.

Rich, sounds like a great deal, is there a good time to call?

Cheers,
Malcolm
M Le Chevalier

Hi M LE Chevalier I am around in the mornings this week if you have to leave a message I will ring you back soon as I can 07749838528. Richard
rj woolley

Hi Mr M Wood if you email me at Richard.woolley@hotmail.com I will send you pictures of the next batch of wheels I get done in a week.
rj woolley

This thread was discussed between 25/09/2014 and 01/10/2014

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS now