The wheels on my VFR400 NC24 look very mucky and was thinking maybe wash them in degreaser and then spray them with some black paint just so they look a bit more persentable than the messy White that is currently powder coated on them (its all chipped and what not)

Would people advise this or could someone powder coat them on a seriously seriously tight budget (Since engine died i got aobut £5 left in the bank)

Regards

Richard

Doesnt matter what the wheels look like if the bikes not even running. Focus on the engine for now. A cheap job will give cheap results that most likely wont last.

Save the $$ until you can pay for a proper powdercoating job

If the paint is chipped a lot as you say then your find it hard to get a good finish. At a very minimum you will need to,

- remove all loose/flakey paint
- rub down the wheel paying particullar attention to the chipped areas to smooth out the surface, The smoother you get the paint at this point the better the end result will be so take your time.
- any bare metal areas will need painting with etch primmer first to help the paint stick.
- then primer
- rub down with 1200 grit wet & dry, no need to press hard just enough to smooth it out.
- apply top coat
- use some cutting compond to flatten the paint, i use G3.
- then polish, or laquer first if need be

Your find it a hell of a lot easier if you remove the tyre but it can be done with the tyre still fitted, use a fineline masking tape such as 3m fineline to mask around the rim then use regular masking tape to cover the rest of the tyre.
Or just get them powder coated, Place near me does them for £50 a set but your have to remove the tyre, replace the bearings and degrease the wheel which obviously adds to the cost. Personally id rather paint wheels than powder coat them, the heat from the curing process has been known cause hairline cracks under the powdercoat which although is unlikely id rather be safe than thrown my pride and joy down the road over saving a few quid on paint.

Thank you for that reply

Ill get myself saving for some Etch primer, I think ill paint the wheel and then laquear them at the same time i laquear the body work im going to be painting soon.

If using spray cans your get a better result using the pro type that are available from most good paint suppliers. Failing that the UPOL stuff is pretty good espcially for etch primmer and is available on ebay, or if you can borrow a compressor do that, better results and the paints a lot cheaper than decent spray cans.

Drunkn Munky wrote:If using spray cans your get a better result using the pro type that are available from most good paint suppliers. Failing that the UPOL stuff is pretty good espcially for etch primmer and is available on ebay, or if you can borrow a compressor do that, better results and the paints a lot cheaper than decent spray cans.

got compressor, spray gun, will have a temp spray booth in a shed too (all plastic'd up to stop dust)

using that for the laquear, dont know about the black paint and primers)