Painting Wheels

[drhank]

I was told you can't paint (spray) or powdercoat wheels with the spokes on. Something about not being able to get the spokes completely covered with paint.
So how do you paint, or powdercoat for that matter, your rims, hibs, and spokes -- separately and the reassemble ???

[AdminGuy]

Yes- do everything separately and then reassemble.

[drhank]

Thanks, will do. I prefer the spokes to be stainless but how do the guys with colored spokes do it? Surely they don't paint the spokes and the nipples separately?

[exeric]

I had this problem with a KJ and a Big Chief. Everything involved in the wheel assembly was painted the same color. I painted the hub the appropriate color and then laced and trued the wheel. I then put the wheel in my truing stand and used a touch-up gun on low pressure to paint the wheel. I took it slow and made sure I got full coverage on the spokes. Then I concentrated on the rim which I wanted to have a good shine and no overspray. It worked out well and I didn't scratch the rim trying to lace it after it was painted. I think the key is to go slow and methodically, watch your paint build-up, and control the over-spray. Just take your time, it doesn't have to be done in 5 minutes.

[drhank]

Thanks Eric. Everyone's help is greatly appreciated.

[Pete Gagan]

This may offend the purists out there, but I have had excellent results powder coating rim, spokes, nipples and hub in all one big lump when I wanted all to be one color. Obviously, you want to do your truing and tightening before hand, as the coating would make turning the nipples difficult if not impossible. I have the good luck of having an excellent powder coating firm nearby.
Pete Gagan

[drhank]

Thank you Pete. I needed to hear that someone has done what I suspected could be done.

[AdminGuy]

OK- then I'll add that spoked wheels do have a tendancey to settle in after a few hundred miles. The spokes stretch and flex which requires a retrue.

Sometimes you can pre-settle a bit on assembly. Grease the outside of nipples on assem. then true. then whack outside of rim with dead blow hammer or something as it spins to "simulate some road stress". Or take it out of stand and sit on it sideways, rotate and bounce. Ya, sounds silly. Also side to side pressure by lifting supporting the rim and pushing down on the center hub, both sides. Then check offset, retrue again. Then clean her up.

I'd personally feel a heck of alot better putting a wheel through a rough stress test before a solid permanent powder coat.

[roland]

painting wheels

Hi There.
I have had great succes in having the rims powder coated and the spokes anodised the right colour, you can get almost any colour in anodised and it is quite a durable finish, I am not sure were you would get it done here in america, because I had it done in england but there must be places that can do anodising here I would think.
Roland.

[john pierce]

Wheels

One of my customers ,Darrel Cutter and the man asembling Darrels 27 Chief ,Kent Thompson put tires on Darrels rebuilt , Freshlly painted wheels, I recieved a call a day or two later and Darrel told me that Kent accused him of powder coating the wheels ,because of the resistance to chiping . I was understandably pleased, And the procedure I use may be helpful to others . 1st Blast the rim with Xtra fine sand on the outside and fine on the inside . This will minimize the profile the blasting leaves to be filled. 2nd weld any holes or cracks. Reblast as needed.3rd Do your bodyfiller work then Zinc and prime to a finish of 600 grit sandpaper on the rim, do the same to the hubs, Incidently Randy Walker made one of the hubs and it is a thing of Beauty. 4th Send the wheels to a wheel wright , I use Buchanans for the tough ones They push ,pull ,smack and put that old rim into shape. I have them install unplated steel spokes . A few weeks later I open the box and wonder how they do their job without scratching my Urethane Primer. Nice job.5th Wash the rim with plenty of wax and grease remover then alchhol wash , Scotch Brite the spokes , hub and rim with a grey pad , blow the dust off re wash with final wash .6th Mask the hub ,then put a long pipe through the hub between two tall stands, zink the spokes, Apply a coat of non- sanding urethane sealer. 7th mix a qt of color up, tack and stand on one side of the rim and I slowly turn the wheel as I spray being careful not to overlap excessivly ( or you get sags ) Next I go to the opposite side and repeat the process ,I do this from 4 sides , Then walk away for 10 minutes or until the paint is what we call beyond stringy. Mix another qt and repeat the process ,This time I'll dress up any dry spots and stay with the wheel until it reaches the stringy stage where I'm sure the danger of runs has passed, Watching paint dry ,now thats exciting!!! If you've been careful and didn't push your product everything should be just Peachy. Same on Ace , Henderson ect. I try to keep to single stage urethanes on rims for minimal build up but I've had the same results on properly done base coat clear coat jobs. On a different note , my son offered to put a tech forum on myweb site , next winter, If its of any interest , any input would be apprciated, Thanks JP

[AdminGuy]

Wow! I have no doubt beautiful wheels as a result.

When you say "zink the spokes". How is zink applied? What kind of zink?
Do the spokes rust over time (contact points) when on the road,
or when the bike gets caught in the rain?
Can you retrue/torque the rims if nessessary without galling the spokes and paint?

Just curious, as it sounds all so beautiful I'd be scared to ride and chip the wheels. Is this a process for a bike that will never be ridden? Please fill me in, I understand if it is.

[john pierce]

In laymans terms , zinc is zinc phosphate its' function is to bite the bare aluminum , steel , stainless etc for the surfacer to stick to . It is applied by paint gun, some paint co's call this step "metal etch," absolutly necessary in paint work !!! The film build up is about 1 mil If I recall corectly, thats less than a thousanths. I feel stongly that if you duplicate the O.E.M. methods you should be able to get similar service out of the part . A 1929 Bently Lemans we did had enormous wire wheels ( this is the type of car John Steed in the old show the Avengers drove )it recieved the same process I described and lots of 70 mph speeds and rain from time to time with no problems . Before the rim goes out to be laced it hes been zinced and primed to finish , that means no bare metal on the rim . A small portion of each end of the spoke is bare , but the thin zinc should penetrate those areas , as far as re trueing , I suspect that the spoke will take some movement,but any coating has a limit to wrench wear. I guess it will depend on the pot hole you hit or avoid as to the life of the wheel/paint but that holds true for powder coat or chrome . I do anticipate that my customers will ride their restorations enthusiasticly so ,as I see my work I always scrutinize it and both the customers and I have been pleased with the performance of the product . Another instance reguarding the durability of urethane paint system technology comes to mind , ever hear of paintless dent repair? This is prying or pushing a dent out without the paint loosing adhesion or cracking which necesitates re-painting ,not only is this a tough system but slowly V.O.C. laws are removing all the old options. I hope this helps Thanks J P

[john pierce]

Painted Wheels

I have one more thought on the wheels, after they return from the wheelright, scotch brite the spokes, apply the Sherwin Williams vynel-etch to the spokes, paint the inside of the rim the necessary color, install your tire, put the wheels on the bike, ride the bike a couple hundred miles,
take the wheels off, collapse the bead leaving the tire on, wash thoroughly with final wash, mask the tire, scotch brite the rim and hub, leave the spokes alone, apply one more coat of vynal etch to the spokes, seal and paint. that should take care of any adjustment to the spokes without damaging the paint.

Pierce ColorWrite

[INLINE4NUT]

John,
Thanks for sharing the above with all of US! I think an addition of a tech forum to your website would help alot of us layman out! If nothing else I maybe able to understand a little more than I do now!
on another note I believe I have a pic of your Dad @ work in the Indian dealership in Mass some time ago or at least was told it was him ! If so no wonder he was smiling !Thanks again for your helpful info!

[john pierce]

Inline four nut

I'd love to see the picture . I have a photo of my dad at Andrews Indian . A few years ago Iwas in the Indian dealer in Kittery Maine and saw a old friend in charge of the service dept . I gave him copies of a couple of my parents old photos for the shops wall. A bit later I went to the closing auction and another friend saw a man real excited about the photos, the man explained to me that the man in the photos had been helpful on his first bike ,a Triumph when this man was a hang around ,floor sweeper at 15 years old . I explained that the man in the photos was my late father and listened for a while of tales of the shop. I was smiling ear to ear. It made my day. And the man did get the photos although I offered more copies, your letter reminds me to take a trip and hunt up the man at the auction . If you want you can call or e mail my web site . Sincerly JP