Heads of A Class Wheel Bolts nasty rusty. Repainting Question?

[Submariner1]

Hi
Having two alloy wheels refurbished ( due to leaking seal … corroded rim) on 2002 A Class - circa 3 days turnaround time. Whilst waiting, I noticed the heads of the wheelbolts were really well rusted. See below.

So I sanded them smooth, derusted, left overnight, primed in the morning 2 coats with 30 min wait time, then left overnight to dry then base metalic coat in afternoon 2 light coats 30 min interval i.e. double recomended interval time , left overnight.
Clear lacquered this morning , left 40mins ( tin said 15 mins ) then another coat of clear.
Note I tried to keep the flats as thin a coat of paint as possible, but heavy coats on the domed end of bolts .
Looks like this:-




OK its a semi crap finish, with a few dust specs , but way better than raw heavy rust.

How long would I have to leave it to dry, before it would take the 12 point Socket up to 110 Nm.?


Or will it always crush the paint off the corners of the flats? Note this is not 2K hard paint, just Halford acrylic paint.

I am pretty sure it would need galvanising or powder-coat as a minimum to properly withstand the torque wrench.

My thoughts are: to leave the supporting box 48 hours on top of a double radiator for the clear coat to harden.
Then have a go, ( note need to put the spare an the second wheel asap to get that refurbished) I am expecting the socket to damage the corners of the head, but hopefully leave the domed top of the head unmarked and the skirts of the flange unmarked …. Ergo general overall effect no longer super rusty or am I dreaming?.

what they looked like before


Note new bolts are circa £7each so thats £28 x 4 = £112 ! IMO Not worth it for the Dear Old “shopping trolley“.
The stems and threads having been oiled are not rusty at all.
The stems look OK to me. The slight paint overlap on the bevel will no doubt shear off with 110 Nm .

I am just trying to avoid a really mashed up gloopy look.
So if the general consensus was to leave it 4 days I could. Question is would it make any difference?

 

[EmilysDad]

the wheel bolts on my Smart do the same, so I bought another set of 3, and repaint & replace them as & when I see a particularly horrible set on the car. Trouble is, you damage the paint as you tighten them when refitting them on the car.

 

[AndySlade]

Be very careful, there is no paint on the mating cone section of the bolt, it will give the wrong torquing up result.

 

[Flyinspanner]

See if you can get a 6 point socket, kinder to the paint as it won’t be driving just off the ‘edges’

ps they’re going to look great once they’re back on

 

[Uncle Benz]

They look lovely. I usually use this Würth product. It gives a more satin galvanised look finish, and resists the socket quite well

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[Chrishazle]

I took the easy way out and bought a set of non-rust bolts off Ebay for about £25, fitted them to the SLK a year or 2 back and they still look OK, must get them for the S204 as well! Beats the time and effort of cleaning the old ones and spraying them with Hammerite, even though I have at least 1 spare set of (rusty) wheel bolts!

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Be ok till you put the 110nm on to them ,,then the paint will chip off again. You could get a set of plastic chromed push on covers next time .

 

[Naraic]

Use a 6 point socket.

 

[mioba]

Great effort there sub, BUT, I can see once a rattle gun gets on them or a wrench, the finish may well crack off.

Certainly not uncommon for mercedes wheel bolts to go rusty on the surface, I replaced all them on both my W220 and W251 this year for new originals. Not cheap when you add the price the bolts individially, but I am happy for the next few years!

 

[EmilysDad]

Great effort there sub, BUT, I can see once a rattle gun gets on them or a wrench, the finish may well crack off.
.....

Rattle guns don't do the 'flower' stainless caps any favours either

 

[DREAMER NO2]

Seen these chrome covers in 17mm 19mm ,,and also 20mm ..Had a set on my car for 7 years ,same thing .Also with a flange on the base

 

[joderest]

The paint will always come off as soon as you take them off, do them up.
Only way forward is Chrome finished bolts, but they rust in the end as well.
SO
What i did, found a plastic insert (type used on pipes) painted them silver to match the wheels, then pushed them in the hole to cover the nut. you have to measure the internal diameter of the wheel bolt hole, then look on e bay. I think it cost me a tenner.

 

[joderest]

have a look at my thread called water ingress posted 17/10/20, page five has a picture of the car, you can see the bolt covers.