Lug Nut Rust
 

Hey guys, long time no post. Hope everyone held up well during winter with their rides parked away.

Any who, I noticed that my lug nuts seem to have quite the noticeable amount of rust on them. Yes, I drove her a few times in the winter. However, after each drive I threw several buckets of hot water on my rims to clean off snow and salt (so I thought).

My question: How might I go about servicing or maintaining my lug nuts to prevent further rust or cosmetic and structural damage to them? Sanding, lubing, coating, or worst case replacing :(?

I figured this would fall under cosmetic maintenance rather than mechanical, as this section is more detail oriented.

Thanks in advance for any help!

My neighbor applied clear nail polish to his open ended neochromes.

Was that post rust?

A.) Invest in Sonax wheel cleaner. It works very well. It'll get rid of salt and iron that bakes into your wheels/lugs

B.) I would wash them once a week minimum during summer months and wash them each time during the winter.

C.) You can always use a wheel sealant/wax on the lug nuts and it should help also

I've never tried the nail polish, but that may add an additional layer of protection

Sorry for the thread jack, but were anyone ele's lugs waxy when they first got their cars? I just noticed it the other day when I was cleaning the wheels. I could actually scratch the substance away with my fingernail. The rest of the wheel is smooth as normal. Weird.

Not sure for mine TBH. I had cleaned my car, including the wheels the day I picked it up and the only thing I remember that was challenging to clean off was the adhesive left on the paint (I'd rather take care of it than have them use something too abrasive anyways)

Thank you, I'm going to look into the Sonax. Hopefully it's easy to get locally!

No, it was a preventative measure.

order it online. There's a couple companies that sell it here

Gotcha, that's what I figured. Did it hold up well through temperature change and weather conditions?

Shipping to Canada? I think it's a better choice to find some locally. But I'll check out their products!

eshine.ca, windowdetail.ca, autoobsessed.com all sell sonax FE in Canada. That said, if you are experiencing surface rust removing it with a chemical like FE or IronX will only remove it for a shot time. You're going to have to mask the actual exposed metal to stop the rust from re-forming.

What kind of lugs are you using? Aftermarket or just the ones that came with the car. If the later, they should be painted already. If they are rusting the paint has chipped. You could replace, or (and this is what I would do, and is assuming you're not using aftermarket lugs), self etching prime, paint with high temp tremclad. Do it off the car and it'll take 30 minutes. Pick whatever color you like.

On the other hand, if these are the same lugs that were on the car when the dealer sold you the car, and you haven't abused them, maybe just ask them for a new set? Most OEM lugs will not rust unless they are being changed season after season and are chipped/worn down as a result of the removal/installation.

To my knowledge he's been preparing for a track day but hasn't gone yet. It may only hold up to the elements and not heat cycling.

Mine felt waxy. I thought it might be cosmoline and removed it. No rust problems here in California.