Painting/powdercoating Wheels?

Hi guys,

I'm thinking about painting my spoked wheels black. I'm just curious if anyone has done this and how the paint held up? I'd like a paint that will hold up to chips of course. (Maybe a rock guard or even bedliner stuff might work and look really badass ) I was also wondering if powdercoating was an option and if I could powdercoat the wheel without having to remove all the spokes?

The chrome on the wheel is in good shape, but the spokes are nasty. I'd actually prefer to remove the spokes, paint them separately and then re-lace the wheel, but that sounds like a daunting task. Anyone ever done that?

I don't really feel like sanding and polishing every spoke on the wheel, so painting them was my other option. Besides, with where I'm heading with the colour scheme on this bike, an all black spoked wheel, or even a black spoke/chrome rim will look awesome.

Thoughts? Sugestions?

Post edited by: MattBlack, at: 2006/04/19 11:19

Post edited by: MattBlack, at: 2006/04/19 11:38

If you want the whole wheel one color, you can have it powder coated... if you want just the hoop done.. it will have to come apart. i did some Kawi MX hoops not too long ago.. i know a guy that will unlace and lace a set of wheels for $100. IF.. and thats a BIG IF, i get my other PC back from the shop, and all my stuff is still there, ill post some pics of the hoops..

If your spokes are nasty, it doesn't really matter what you do with them. You are still going to have to sand them up and get all that rust off. Buying new spokes or leaving them alone are the only two ways to avoid sanding them.

I would not use bedliner material or other stuff like that as it will be too thick, and will add a boatload of unsprung weight that will most likely unbalance the wheel.

If you powdercoat the spokes and all as one piece, you will not be able to adjust the spokes.