sandlasting mag wheels

Has anyone out there sandblasted their mag wheels? Thinking about doing it this weekend. Will these wheels rust it not painted or polished. Does anyone out there have polished or all silver mag wheels? thanks for any help.

Dan does. DanOz650... Page 8 of the 650 gallery.

Post edited by: ronboskz650sr, at: 2005/10/31 21:10

Post edited by: ronboskz650sr, at: 2005/10/31 21:11

Ron, thanks for all of your help so far. I just joined and I think you have replied with helpful info to every single one of my post's. You have a great looking bike.

You're very welcome! And thanks. Oh, it's DanOz750 now, he changed it when the site moved, I guess.

Post edited by: ronboskz650sr, at: 2005/10/31 22:34

I blasted mine. What a mess. I used one of theose outdoors blasters. I worked great. Just make sure you seal up the axle holes if your not putting in new bearings.

I had a set of Honda wheels for a BSA cafe racer project beadblasted. I clearcoated them with spray can clearcoat for automotive alloy wheels to make cleaning easier and prevent corrsion/discolouring. The freshly blasted wheels will be light in colour, the clearcoat will slightly darken them. They really looked good! Considering doing the same with my GPz wheels, eventually.

fossil do you have any pictures of those wheels?

I thought my ears were ringing today :woohoo:

Yes I have sandblasted wheels but its pretty time consuming if you have a small compressor and gun. On my bike I did the rear wheel before I got the sandblaster and did a lot of wirebrusing with a dremel tool.

Your best bet is to use aircraft stripper. I havent experimented with different sands but right now I only have playground sand (literally from the local playground) and it gives the aluminum a grey look. Not liking the grey I just did a quickie paint job and polished the edges of the rim and spokes.

I will be experimenting more with it over the winter though.

sigep628 wrote:

fossil do you have any pictures of those wheels?

No, sorry I didn't take any pictures and I've sold the project. One thing I should add, if you blast the wheel and plan on changing your own tires, the tire irons will mark the edges of the rims leaving shiny spots. Best to have the tires mounted at a shop with the right tools to avoid marking the edge of the rim. Or, polish out the edge of the rim.

I beadblasted my rims on my '77 650 Custom. Sandblasting is far too coarse, beads are better giving a smoother finish. The look is ultra cool, a raw casting, light colored look. A quick shot of clear coat can be added but instead, I just give a light wipe with WD40 every couple of weeks and it protects the aluminum rim, takes off road grime and brake dust. Cheers-Colin


1977 KZ650 Custom. Brought back from the dead after 13 years of neglect. Totally rebuilt from frame up. Wiseco 700 kit. Ported, polished heads. Triple angle valve job. Properly re-jetted rebuilt carbs, Filters, MAC Pipe, Barnett Clutch, Body mods, Bead blasted rims, 14 tooth sprocket front, Superbike Bars, Painted 2005 Chrysler Magnum Red with silver and gold stripes. Only 13,000 miles on bike. Runs and looks like new and does it ever jump off the line! Colin Firth-Ontario-Canada

This is a little off topic but still on the subject...

When someone is talking about bead blasting, they are just referring to the media used correct? Where can I get the beads? Its silica sand isnt it? I looked at Home Depot the other day because I thought I remember seeing silica sand there once.

I used a very fine sand, did mine about 2 years ago and then repainted. No problems no chips. Just remember to tape off your bearings carefully. Sands gets into the starangest places.