Weber 1962-1968 Steel Wheel Restoration

[SixZeroFour]

Hey all, just finished a quick restore of a set of metal wheels and thought I would share some before and after pics.

First off a big shout out to @AZ2FL for sorting me out with these... steel wheels are getting harder to find these days so I really appreciate the help!

Most of the restore steps are detailed in @Cellar2ful 's great write-up on the blog from a couple years back:
https://weberkettleclub.com/blog/2020/09/14/restoring-original-weber-metal-wheels/

Really the only difference here is that I opted to sandblast the wheels prior to painting. This CAN work fantastic (and did on this particular set) but you need to be very careful as many of the old steel wheels have grown thin over the years and you can end up doing a lot more harm than good. Just have a good look at what's in front of you and make an informed choice if the material is solid enough. I ended up having to do a couple tiny pinhole patches but I feel quite happy with the results in the end. 

Here are the wheels prior to restoration:



After sandblasting there were 2 or 3 pinholes in the steel so I patched it up with some Bondo metal filler. Sandblasting works really well at stripping the wheel, but again use with caution!:



Here you can see one of the tiny repairs at right about 3 o'clock on the wheel. This filler worked extremely well - hardened up quickly and was easily sandable:



Another close-up of the sanded repair. The rough lower edges on the inside lip will not be visible once the rubber tread is re-installed onto the wheels:



Next up both sides were sprayed in multiple coats of Satin black spray paint. Note that both sides of the wheels are identical, so choose the better looking side to be facing outwards (The side you will paint the whitewall on):



I opted to mask over the entire wheel and then very carefully used a hobby knife to trim directly around the small raised metal lip. You can see I've pressed the masking tape in tight with a fingernail, then use the edge to guide your blade:



If you use a sharp blade (hobby kits work best) the stencil will come out nice and clean. Just peel back the outer ring to expose the edge you want to paint white:



I chose to tape the wheels down to some cardboard to both mask the entire lower part of the wheel I didn't want to overspray - and also to hold them in place while allowing me to turn the box for better painting angles:



Here they are over sprayed with the whitewall:



After allowing paint to dry carefully remove the mask:



And hopefully you are left with a nicely refreshed set of wheels!



Thanks again to those who helped me out with sourcing some of these older parts. They are destined for a really special grill that I hope to finally have in my hands in about 3 weeks. Full post and details to follow!

Take care,

Matt

[1spacemanspiff]

Nice job!!!

[bamakettles]

Great restore, hope to see them on your special grill soon!


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[JEBIV]

Grate work Matt

[Mr.CPHo]

Wow, really nice restoration of those wheels!

[RRRanger99]

Awesome! Can't wait to see them with the new rubber treads.

[OkieGirl]

Those look great!

Thanks for the tutorial and tips.  Hoping to get a start on mine this spring.
I won't be doing any sandblasting but the Bondo may come in handy and I love the idea of taping the wheel to a box.

Dumb question - is it hard to remove the rubber tread?

[SixZeroFour]

Cheers all!

@OkieGirl Not a dumb question at all! The treads that came on these particular wheels were heavily cracked so I ended up just splitting them all the way through in order to remove completely. I am very excited to see the reproduction treads that are on the way for these but I will say they are not cheap (due to cost of the rubber required to make them) So try to save those treads if they are in decent shape!

In my past experiences the original rubber also hardens up considerably over the years so extra care must be taken when removing if you plan to reuse. Soaking the wheel in warm/hot water might help to soften it up a bit. Also a heavy soak or coating in rubber reconditioner for a few days prior to removal might help reduce the risk of tearing. Beyond that you just need to slowly pry back the rubber and work it off the rim.

If you are planning to re-use the treads it might be best to attempt restoring the wheel with the treads still in place. 

Dumb question - is it hard to remove the rubber tread?

[SixZeroFour]

One other random bit of info regarding these wheels... the original style 3/8 metal push caps shown above left are getting quite hard to find. At least here in Canada I used to rely on the "Hillman 3/8-in-16 Nickel Standard (SAE) Axle Push Nut" but it appears the old part number 880516 is now migrating over the the hat style push cap shown on the right.

It will certainly do the job but the look is quite different so for those Kettleheads who collect real old timers it might be worth while grabbing a few if you spot em'   

[michaelmilitello]

Great job!!


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[OkieGirl]

Cheers all!

@OkieGirl Not a dumb question at all! The treads that came on these particular wheels were heavily cracked so I ended up just splitting them all the way through in order to remove completely. I am very excited to see the reproduction treads that are on the way for these but I will say they are not cheap (due to cost of the rubber required to make them) So try to save those treads if they are in decent shape!

In my past experiences the original rubber also hardens up considerably over the years so extra care must be taken when removing if you plan to reuse. Soaking the wheel in warm/hot water might help to soften it up a bit. Also a heavy soak or coating in rubber reconditioner for a few days prior to removal might help reduce the risk of tearing. Beyond that you just need to slowly pry back the rubber and work it off the rim.

If you are planning to re-use the treads it might be best to attempt restoring the wheel with the treads still in place. 

Dumb question - is it hard to remove the rubber tread?

Thanks for the info. Sounds like best idea for me is to work with the tread in place.
Looking forward to seeing the results when you get your new treads. 

[jknowlton]

Would you be able to share where you acquired the tread for your wheels? Last weekend I bought a 1963 Ambassador Kettle and I'm excited to have the opportunity to restore it, but the wheels need rubber and I really want to use the original wheels. Thank you

[SixZeroFour]

That's a great find - welcome to the club!

You can get in touch with @Hansiurpils for the treads - he makes them up custom

Would you be able to share where you acquired the tread for your wheels? Last weekend I bought a 1963 Ambassador Kettle and I'm excited to have the opportunity to restore it, but the wheels need rubber and I really want to use the original wheels. Thank you

[jknowlton]

Awesome.  Thank you very much. Appreciate your help and your tutorial on restoring the steel wheels.

[Darko]

Great job on the restore Matt. One of these days, I may try it on the 57/58 Chromoveil