Powder coating on wheels

[steamer3]

Does anyone have any experience with powder coating Girly spoke wheel rims and hubs black? The aluminum is badly oxidized. The main question is would it work without dissembling the wheel?

[Chris Canning]

Powder coating have come on in a quantum leap in the last 10 years,with a good powder coater your hard pressed to tell the difference between it and 2 pack,but to do any kind of decent job you have to strip the wheel,with PC you have no choice as heat is involved so the wheel bearings have to be knocked out,with 2 pack it is possible to do a bodge job by cleaning the wheel up by hand and masking the bearings off,but to do a decent job the wheel needs shot blasting just the same.

Just remember we are talking alloy wheels here,if you have a bike with a magnesium wheels!!! I know their not on a tiger but if you ever need one doing  a totally different ball game.

[Sin_Tiger]

I would not recommend it for spoked rims.

First off, if your rims are that bad you need new rims. No amount of powder coating will fix loss of material due to corrosion and you will be kidding yourself, possibly into an early gave.
Second,  spokes and nipples flex, that means the powder coat will wear through quickly if not chip due the movement.
Third, the powder coat will have to be drilled out of the holes for the spokes in the hub and the nipples in the rim, which sort of defeats the purpose of corrosion protection and may even accelerate it.

To achieve the look you are trying for without stripping the wheel is to paint them but to get a decent finish that will last longer than one ride out, you will have to do so much preparation work it will make stripping the wheels seem likea good idea half way through the job. If you take a complete wheel to a powder coater they will either laugh and send you away with your money in your pocket or take your money and give zero guarantees about the results.

Want to do it right, strip the wheels, including the bearings and seals, vapour blast the hubs and two pack them, get a set of black anodized rims and have them laced up with stainless spokes.

It's either going to cost you a fair bit or, no  disrespect to your skills and patience, probably going to have you wishing you hadn't after a very short time.

[Chris Canning]

Wire wheels have made a bit of a come back with e'm either being painted/anodised you can even get carbon fibre rims regardless it will cost!!!,alternatively it's a rebuild if your in the Uk that will be Central Wheel they built them in the first place.

[steamer3]

Thanks for replies guys. Looks like it would cost a lot of money to do them properly. Another option is to go to cast wheels.

[Chris Canning]

I've seen a 955 done with Triumph wheels but off which model I've no idea,of recent I've also seen a pair of Tiger mag wheels even with the S/A and shock on ebay for peanuts.

[Sin_Tiger]

Getting second hand rims in decent  condition in the UK is going to be a bit of a lottery due to the weather, the originals were budget in my opinion.

If you decide to go with new rims then best talking to Central Wheel as Chris says. The Morad rims they do are a reasonable price, I believe they are made on the same tooling and probably by the same people that used to make Akront. I just got one recently for the Thruxton and is nice quality for the money.

[Chris Canning]

I have virtually a brand new pair of 955 wheels done maybe 2000 miles and stored in the loft since I Supermoto'd the bike over 10 years and never seen a winters day, and discs as well but they won't be cheap  PM me.