Polishing Spokes(again!)

Well,I don't know if Anyone remembers Me removing every single spoke and polishing them on My polisher,and then having to relace the whole wheel...about 15 hours from take-off to done...grrr.
Sure,they looked awesome but one trip near the ocean(when the Warden and I went to Seattle to hook up with the Boys)...got home and every spoke had turned brown...and UGLY!
Well...all I need is one more season out of these spokers,until I install the ZRX wheels(no spokes to polish)so...last night...Me,and a whole whack of beers decided to do something about this ugly rim(starting with the front for now)...I had originally cut some strips of cloth,and with some autosol,I was wrapping the strips around the spokes,and polishing that way(pushing and pulling the strip around each spoke),BUT...the cloth would fall apart in NO time,and leave a bunch of threads wrapped around the spokes...hmmm...what else can I use?...that's when My lovely Warden says,"Hey...what about using that leather shammy that We bought for the car?"Is She brilliant,or WHAT?...WELL...let Me tell You...it worked SO well,You wouldn't BELIEVE it!...It didn't fray(but it will break apart after a while).
First of all,I used an old spoke for a test...I took some,"Scotchbrite" and scuffed away the brown...locked the spoke in My vice,grabbed a strip of the suede shammy...poured a bit of autosol onto it,and rubbed it into the material...wrapped it around the spoke and gaver...WOW...in no time,the spoke looked like it had just been chromed!Seriously...it worked awesome!
So I then took the scotchbrite(cut little squares of it) and scuffed off the brown on about 10 of the spokes,and followed up with the suede shammy strip and autosol...un-bloody-real.
In the attached pics,it is really hard to see what they really DO look like...in fact,I had to take a whole whack of pics,and trying different settings on My camera,just to get the true affect...close,but not bang on.
SO...here's what Ya need...

A Saturday night
a box of beer(a must)
classic rock on the radio
scotchbrite(it's the best)
autosol(cheaper than Mothers,and does the same for this particular job)
a regular leather(suede) shammy
more beer
louder tunes
no interuptions(except pee breaks)
get rid of the Kids(send them to a movie)or put em to work!
I was cutting the strips about an inch and a half wide,and about a foot long.You can get better coverage with longer strips...more speed gets it polished quicker.
You'll want to cross the ends of the strip over to hug more of the spoke,and not just wrapping it around,where You'd only get the one side...overlapping the ends will do over half of the spoke surface on contact(I hope that made sense)...and You'll want to move(Your body) from the left,to the right as You're doing this.
Either way...once You get started,You'll groove right into it,and do it Your OWN way,but You'll see what I mean once You get started.
Warning!...the spokes can and WILL get HOT!...trust Me...LOL...AND...I used a B+D "Workmate" table to lock the wheel into,BUT...make sure that if that strip breaks,that You arent in the 2 danger-zones...Your face,and the other area between Your waist and Your knees...I found both of those zones...the HARD way!DOH!!:whistle:
I think it took Me about 3 hours or so...but I was also having problems opening some of the cans,so that added a bit to the time...plus,You're going to keep stopping to admire what You've accomplished from time to time...and have a few sips.LOL
So...I think what I'm going to do now,to keep these spokes looking the way they do now,is clearcoat them with a rattlecan...yup...it probably WON'T last that long,BUT...I am NOT polishing these spokes AGAIN...NOT!:pinch:
I'll mask off the chrome areas,and just dust some clear onto the spokes.When I did this a couple of years back,I was always spraying silicone spray on the spokes and it DID work...until that ocean air got to them...just washed the spray away,and got right in there and stained them...I was so mad.
Anyway...trust Me...this works,so if Your spokes are in bad shape,grab some scotchbrite...be as agressive as You want with it,because whatever You do to them,it'll polish out with the leather strips...guaranteed!
I only used the scotchbrite because it made things a lot quicker...You can get the bulk of the stains off with just the strips.
Oh and obviously ,You want to remove the rotors(rotor) so You can get in there,and the strips DO get in there...everywhere,in fact...not too many areas that it didn't get to.
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Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/04/07 01:24

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Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/04/07 01:25

...some of the pics were too big...

Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/04/07 01:25

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Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/04/07 01:25

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Post edited by: steell, at: 2006/04/07 01:26

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here's a better one of the whole wheel,and not so blurry...

Sandy, I can't wait till you, Tony and Kawboy ride out so you can demonstate the process on my CSR. I (you)have 88 spokes to do:laugh:

88??...should only be 80 for the 2 rims...I can't do 88!!
LOL...1 spoke requires 1 beer,just so You know,John:P ...could end up costing You,"Bud":laugh:

no interuptions(except pee breaks) ?

Where did you get the seed to "YOUR" garden of Eden?

My seed brought me interuptions all the time.:blush:

Sandy: how did you learn how to lace and true your spoked wheels ? I want to learn how and do it on my wheels - so I can take the hub out and paint it.

Well...to be honest...I had another rim that I used as a guide,but setting up the spokes WAS time consuming...to get it true and straight.Once I had all of the spokes just snugged into place,I mounted the rim back into the front,so I could spin it,and get a true reading of what spokes needed to be adjusted.
I had to heat dam near every spoke to break them free,and I THINK I only ended up breaking 3 of them,but I had spares(and You'll want spares as well).
I did this about 2 years ago(or 3 now) so My exact method is kinda hazy,but I DID get it to where the mechanic that balanced the wheel for Me,said that He couldn't have gotten it any closer.[patting on back,lol]
Not only do You have the up and down adjustments to make,but You also have the side to side adjustments.It was time comsuming ,like I said,but I sure learned by doing it Myself.
Let Me see what I can dig up for You,Bud...because there's a TON of info...hey...check the archives from the old KZR,and do a search on spoke adjusting/rim lacing...I'm sure that I may have even posted about it,back then...not sure...