Lug nut washers - are they worth it?

stouchton

stouchton

Senior Member
If I powder coat my wheels, will they be tough enough to not scratch/chip from the lug nut?

The paint on my wheels always seemed to want to chip whenever I would put a wheel back on. Noticed the vendors sell these stainless washers, just not sure if they were needed with powder coated wheels.
 
powder coating will chip, have your powder coater block off the inside surface of the rim where the lug nuts go, or carefully remove the powder coating after the rims are done
 
The real purpose of these washers is for use on wheels where the lug nut holes have been wallered out.
 
CarlG said:
The real purpose of these washers is for use on wheels where the lug nut holes have been wallered out.
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Ditto that, plus the washers take up space and reduce the number of turns the lug nut can make on the wheel bolt, thereby possibly lessening the gripping power of the lug nut to hold the wheel in place.
 
Got it - thanks.

Any fear of rust creeping under the powder coat? (as you can tell, I have zippo powder coat experience!).
 
I have never seen any rust under powder coating, unless the powder coating has been chipped or hit so moister can get to the bare metal it wont rust
 
Yes, rust can creep under powder coat quite a bit. It will happen with any top coat, but with powder it seems to be more prevalent. Powder coat on the surface is some what like wrapping a part with plastic. The rust will spread under the color but the film will remain in one piece. Hence, although you may see paint at a glance, it may be loose from the substrate and a lot of rust underneath.

My history with powder paints go back to 1969 when I got my bicycle got powder coated.

Craig
 
if the part powered coat is prepare correctly it wont rust under it, there has to be a reason or way for moister to get to the bare metal, just like chrome no rust unless there is a way for moisture to get under it
 
So, if it is recommended to remove the powder coating where the lug nuts go how does one prevent rust?
 
I have stainless washers to protect my powder coated wheels and they work grate. Don't remove powder coat its just a place for rust to start. But in the end its up to you. :)
 
stouchton said:
So, if it is recommended to remove the powder coating where the lug nuts go how does one prevent rust?
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I put grease on the taper and threads of all lug nuts, whether it's my new car, trailers, or Model A's, and contrary to what some say, they never come loose if they were tightened to start with. I hand tighten using the original Ford crank.
 
recently there was an article in the restorer saying not to paint where the nuts contact the rim because it will eventually cause loose lugnuts as the paint wears. suggested placing old lugs over the holes before painting.
 
your right Tom, fine threaded bolts or nuts will not back off or loosen if properly torqued, one of the reason Ford used them, saved him a lock washer
 
Used the stainless washer on my 31 since the wheels were powder coated, have had no problem what so ever, they will keep your wheel from chipping, and I never had to re=torque my wheels, Yes, they are worth it!!
 
Here are my thoughts on wheels after powder coating them and checking fit to drums.

First off did you check the lugnuts in the holes before powder coating? The taper from the lug nut must NOT go through the hole or they will not get properly tight. This may be more common then you think as the holes more often wallered out then you might think.

The purpose of the washers was to allow you to use rims that have worn lug nut holes so the nut does not bottom out.

Paint in the holes is bad. Paint will wear, the wheel hubs are more flexible then you might think. You do not want to take a chance if you intend to put some miles on your car.
When I powder coated my wheels I put nuts in the holes to keep them bear metal.

Here is something most people do not know to do.
If you have any uneven buildup on the back side of the wheel where it contacts the drum then you will make your drums go out of round. I learned this with my wheels. I noticed a slight buildup and while I had the drums set up to check total out of round I bolted a wheel to the drum. That took the drum out by over .010" of an inch!!!!
I recommend taking sand paper and sanding off all of the paint/ powder coat on the outside edge that contacts the drum. Two reasons for this. The wheel flex will wear the paint off leaving the lug nuts loose. It will take your drum out of round.
As for not having paint on that edge, well that will happen eventually anyway.

I will say you need to keep in mind the wheels were designed somewhat weak at the hub. They were engineered to be a system. When the drum and wheel are together they become a stronger unit. Some of the original Ford drums were even machined where the wheel touches the drum. So the wheel needs to be properly mated to the drum for it to be happy. See that is the 'problem' with the A, so much is finely engineered you have to look for how each part fits in a system. There is so much more to the A then what you may think at first glance.

A final note, I am making the assumption you only did a light coat of paint or powdercoat on your drums. This affects cooling rates and if the surfaces where the wheel rides are uneven you will get a warped drum.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
I put grease on the taper and threads of all lug nuts, whether it's my new car, trailers, or Model A's, and contrary to what some say, they never come loose if they were tightened to start with. I hand tighten using the original Ford crank

Tom is the voice of experience. Follow his procedure. He knows of what he speaks !
Wayne
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the wheels are powdercoated on both my cars.. one car has the washers the other does not.. neither car chips off the coating
i think you will be good either way with no chipping as long as you get a quality job
 
I have powder coated my rims on the 28 Tudor, and insisted on using a powder coating primer containing zinc, the zinc assists in eliminating any under strike corrosion occurring when standard powder coating chips or cracks. I have also used the washers, so that the wheel (lug) nut does cause direct stress on the coating when tightening the wheel nut.
 
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