Reply to "Original 10" Campy's"

As with all Campagnolo magnesium wheels, I suggest that any such on a car destined to be driven on public roads be annealed every 10 years or so. I first ran across this technique back in the '80s when fresh out of the Navy and working in Aerospace; at that time 'mag' wheels were used in the U.S Military on fighter aircraft wheels. Those wheels were recycled every 1000 operating hours (flight times) but for passenger cars, it's too difficult to accurately keep track of operating time (car actually moving).

Cast magnesium, also known as 'compressed- corrosion' will age-harden, somewhat like post-curing of plastic; over time, stresses build up inside the casting. Left unchecked, they can result in overstressed wheels cracking while stored deflated on a shelf, or while in mild street use. Any nicks or chips should be TIG-welded & smoothed at this time; welding rapidly builds up stresses too, but we're going to address all of them at once.

The annealing can safely be done at home in an oven (while your wife is gone, or use a junked home oven to keep the peace). Each wheel should be thoroughly cleaned with soap & water & a stiff brush, dried off then placed in the oven at 275 degrees F for at least 3 hrs. The cleaning reduces smoke and odors from heating. Note- they WILL NOT CATCH FIRE! Big chunks of cast mag' are actually really hard to light off, unlike dust or shavings.

Once the 3 hr mark 'hot' is reached, wrap the hot wheel in a non-plastic blanket and return it to the hot oven, then turn the oven off and leave it alone till the next day. The idea here is to heat the wheel to 275F for a few hours, then cool it off as slowly as possible. The slow-as-possible cooling is critical and there are no shortcuts!

After the oven and wheel are again at room temperature, you'll find the wheel's protective paint has heat-discolored, so you refinish it with 'Argent Silver' paint from a rattle-can. The greenish zinc chromate undercoat Campagnolo used will be undamaged. Your wheel should then be good for another decade or so of use.

Sure- its a bit of bother and takes a day for each wheel every decade or so, but it only costs your electricity & labor, and with the cost of such wheels today and the fact that Campy has been out of business for 30 years, it's cheap insurance. ALL my Campys have been annealed including my 1st generation, lightly used 10" x 15"s. No worries!