Wheel Paint?

[Yikes]

I've gotten pretty tired of my dull and snowflake wheels with the little spots of corrosion on them.  I think a good clean, prep and paint job on the wheels would really spiff up the Ol '82.  I'll probably stick with the silver gray color they are now-something in tune with the color of the engine block.

I'm trying to decide what kind of paint to use.  There are wheel paints at the auto parts store that are  sort of a steel color.  Then there's the POR silver paint that is really expensive, but probably excellent quality.  Then there is the $5 rattle can at the Ace Hardware that may do fine and is readily available for touch-ups and do-overs.  

Like all paint jobs, the real pain is in the prep, mostly getting that grease/ grime layer off and smoothing out the little rust spots.  I'm guessing each wheel will be the better part of a day to do.   As usual, I hate to do anything that is going to take the bike (and me) off the road for more than a day.  (I really need a second bike!)  Maybe I'll buzz by the body shop that fixed my wife's car when my daughter smashed into it, and see what they do for me.

Anyone have experience painting wheels they can relate?  Things worth doing? Things to avoid?  Magic techniques for cleaning and prepping those scores of cells on the snowflakes?  Good prep tools and chemicals?  Good paint?  Anything I should not attempt and leave to a professional?

Thanks for all advice!

John McC

[Landlubber]

I had my R65LS wheels sand balsted and silver powder coated, it is quite OK. If you wish for a better finish, i would still do the same and paint them after with two pack polyurethane.

[Darwin_R65]

how did the powder coat go?
I've heard of people having vintage car steel rims powder coated. They look fantastic but they then need to have tyre places treat them like mag wheels to avoid chips. But then our snowflake wheels are mag wheels anyway.

curious.

John

[bruce_launceston]

I sandblasted mine to remove the grime and roughen up / remove the original paint. I then took them to my spray painter for the gloss black 2 pack epoxy finish.

I would recommend sandblasting, then you could paint them yourself with good quality rattle cans.
I used K&H brand paints from the auto accessory store for touching up my frame and switchgear etc.

Set the wheels up on a spindle so that you can rotate them, there are lots of nooks and crannies that can be missed.

[Semper Gumby]

The correct color if you want to use Paint is Wurth "Wheel Silver."  Comes in a rattle can.  And you can do it yourself.

Go to their web site and ask them for a distributer.  They have guys that are like the Mac tools/Snapon that cover your area.  

I did a couple of Hubs for my Honda 350 by bead blasting them clean and then using a couple of coats of the wheel silver and then a couple of coats of the Wurth Clear coat.  They still look great after five years... 8-)

Good Luck.

[Landlubber]

Being alloy, the best way to clean them up is to sbrasive blast the ally, then coat with primer asap. Two pack paints will give the shiniest results if that is what you want. My powder coating is at 95% gloss anyhow, so I am hsppy with that. My bike is also not a concourse bike, I intend to just make it nice, that way zi can enjoy riding it without worrying about a small mark ruining the bike. Been there , done that, never again, too much of a pain to enjoy the bikes as they are meant to be used.