I would scout out the leak first. Water in a squirt bottle with a couple drops of dish soap. I have found some of the tiniest leaks this way. Air it up to 40 psi and squirt away. Obviously your thinking its the wheel so spray it all down. I just found a leak that could have been disastrous. The 90's truck I use to tow the car trailer had a very slow leak. I don't use the truck for much more than that, and I put about 1200 miles a year on it. I would have to top it off about every month - month and a half....been doing that for well over a year now, anywhere from 10-20 psi depending how long I let it go. Finally decided it was time to figure it out. Sprayed the whole tire down---several times. Nothing. I gave up and sprayed the wheel...sure enough, on the backside of the wheel, tiny minuscule bubbles started forming. I dismounted the wheel (steel), figuring I could just buzz it with a little weld. What was a pinhole, opened up into a giant gap! If that blew out while towing, it could have been bad--and it was on the front tire to boot!
Self etching primer and whatever you want to seal it up. Will it eventually flake off? Chances are good but you can do it again if it does.
This is good advice and if done properly you will not have to worry about leaks again. Used to work for a aluminum foundry and customers often requested impregnating on their castings as a precaution so their finished product was leak proof. Especially castings subject to internal pressure from gases or liquids. They used to dip castings in what was called Water Glass which was actually sodium silicate to seal porosity. I am sure a internet search would probably find someone who sells it.
I know exactly where its leaking. sprayed soapy water on the whole wheel and found a little fizz dead center of the wheel. I just need to get the tire off and see what it looks like inside. unfortunately Santa brought me the flu so I'll be down for a few days.
UPDATE on wheel leak, cleaned and scrubbed inside of rim with a scotchbrite pad, sprayed 3 coats of clear paint and haven't lost any more air. thank you all for ideas and input
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