78E Wheels pitted - how to refirb?

[PJSALERNO]

I'm getting new Dunlop Elite II's next week based on (most) everyone's suggestions. I'm taking the wheels off myself and having the shop mount and balance. Since I'll have the wheels off already, I was thinking of refurbishing them. The rest of the bike looks great and the pitting brings the look of the bike down a few notches.

Any suggestions on the refirb? Black Powder Coat, etc.?

Thanks.......Phil

[Ken Talbot]

Glassbeading does a really nice job of cleaning up aluminum for powdercoat or paint.



Powder coating would look great, but you need to remove the bearings, seals, and valve stem and clean to bare metal.
Good quality primer and paint will also give you a nice looking set of wheels.

Watch you don't get the wheels looking too good, or you'll end up having to do the whole bike.

DAMHIKIJD

[fxrer]

To clean up the bare aluminum edges of the rims, I use #7 rubbing compound, a Scotch Brite pad, and elbow grease.

[Pat Kelly]

Ken,
I was noticeing (in the 2nd photo) your brake rotors. They appear to have grooves cut in to them.

[PJSALERNO]

Glassbeading? Sorry, I'm not familiar with this process. Can you please explain the process and what type of companies do this work? Thanks! (Please tell me that there are no dumb questions).
Your wheel looks awesome.
..Phil

[btchalice]

glass beading is basically sandblasting using a glass media in a sealed box.
any engine rebuild shop should have one.

[Ken Talbot]

The rotors are not grooved. What you're looking at is the special high-temperature polyester masking tape on the friction surfaces. I took that shot just after I got the parts home, before I got very far with peeling the tape. You can just see the bare mounting suface on the third rotor from the left.

[Pat Kelly]

Gotcha! That precludes my next question of how long you thought the powdercoat was going to last on the rotor .

[2fast]

Hey Ken,
What kind of cost are we talking to powder coat that much stuff? Did you do it, or have it done? I have heard it can be done at home in an old oven, or your main oven if you are single......

[Ken Talbot]

Every thing you see in the photo I had done at a commercial shop. I did the sandblasting and glassbeading, and masked off any surface I didn't want coated. Total came to CDN$350.

IIRC, other costs were something like this:

$90 for a small sandblasting cabinet
$25 for a sandblasting hood/mask
$20 for a decent particle mask
$40 for a bag of glass beads
$10 for a large bag of coppper slag 'sand'
$30 on three rolls of polyester masking tape (1/2", 1", 2")

HTH....

[pathfinder]

Wow I feel lucky to have a bud in the powder coat business. I paid $125.00 for my powder coat of all pieces on the bike that were black paint are now powder coated except for the wheels. The guy wasn't going to charge me at all untill he saw all the little pieces, it took about 4 man hours to hang them and less than 1 to powder coat.

[sksxs1100]

Hey Pathfinder? you know anybody that recently got a set of hard bags and a trunk from lands cycle in channel view? who ever got it... got a good set of side covers with it.... I wanted them...lol i guess i snooze, i lose...lol

[pathfinder]

not a clue