Spokes and fitment to rims

Hi, before i give my wheels the final build im concerned about the metal to metal on the wheel rim & potential rust , anybody  have  some thoughts on this ? Cheers bob,

Hi
I've just started my build, when I did my front wheels I primed the rim and spokes before assembly, some say you don't need to, but some have.
What i have noticed is the paint will run into the joint, on mine some has run better that others.

when i do the back wheels I will put a smear of epoxy under the spoke before I bolt it up, similar to the hubs.
Hope this helps, I'm a new builder, so see what the others say.

Thanks- im pondering on epoxy or red oxide atm - primer is porous apparently ?

I am having this exact dilemma when assembling my Foden Chassis, which has some mated surfaces which similar to your spokes I am worried about water getting into and causing rust leaks.

As Mutleybob says, Primer is porous and so offers no real protection in the long term from rusting if any water got between the spokes - although it is undoubtedly better than nothing - whereas top coat provides some weather protection. I think the route I am going to go is getting some aerosols of primer and my chosen chassis colour and just giving 1 thin coat of each on the mating surfaces to seal them against water ingress. Then when I come to do the actual painting, which will be brush painting, of the whole assembly I will be relying that some of the paint will get into the joints and so seal it anyway - a bit of a belt and braces approach.

My hope is that the two thin aerosol coats will be enough to seal it but be thin enough to not cause any real issues with fitment. I've yet to see if that theory works!

I completed my build 5 years ago. I fitted all spokes metal-to-metal and painted the finish wheel. No hints of rust so far.

My advise would be don't fret. I'm sure once you've completed build you will be so proud of your achievement and won't risk getting your
'pride and joy' wet by leaving uncovered during significant rain and certainly not driving through deep mud or puddles.

Good luck with your builds
Chris

I was having the same thought last night. Not even started my new build yet. Based on experience of other things i have made in the past, i am going to arm myself with a can of Red Oxide primer to lightly spray the mating faces, just locally before assembly to add that extra piece of mind

I used some zinc phosphate primer in the end , just a thin layer between spoke and rim - I would have had sleepless nights if it were bare metal ,