Wheel Finish: thoughts and ideas?

[pres589]

My red GS500 looks alright but I'd like to get the wheels refinished when I get new tires for the thing.  I want to have them professionally media blasted and powdercoated.  So I'd like to hear from those of you that have had this stuff done before.  What's a decent price per wheel to have them blasted?  I think sand is frowned upon for this kind of thing, what should be used?  Walnut shells?  Baking soda? 

Any gotchas on removing all hardware from the wheels first?  I've had the front wheel off once, it wasn't that big of a deal, the back however I've never touched.

What's a decent price for powdercoating?  I'm trying to figure out what color I want.  I figure either a sort of gunmetal, not black like graphite, a dark color like that could look good.  Another thought is having the wheels powdercoated with a clear; is that doable?  Opinions on what that would look like?  Part of me thinks it'd look kind of strange, part of me says it could look good, and a third part says it's not seen often so why not dare to be different.

I'm waiting for a crazy tire deal that may never come around at the stealership so it's not something I have to rush into, just figured that would be a good time to get the wheels redone... and a Kat 600 rear shock unit while I'm in there. 

[OctaneMotorsports]

My local guy sandblasted powdercoated the rims on my motocross bike black. He did them for $25 each and did a very nice job. I think it usually goes for a lot more though, I probably got a deal because I'm always getting him to do stuff.

[D-Day]

My red GS500 looks alright but I'd like to get the wheels refinished when I get new tires for the thing.  I want to have them professionally media blasted and powdercoated.  So I'd like to hear from those of you that have had this stuff done before.  What's a decent price per wheel to have them blasted?  I think sand is frowned upon for this kind of thing, what should be used?  Walnut shells?  Baking soda? 

Any gotchas on removing all hardware from the wheels first?  I've had the front wheel off once, it wasn't that big of a deal, the back however I've never touched.

What's a decent price for powdercoating?  I'm trying to figure out what color I want.  I figure either a sort of gunmetal, not black like graphite, a dark color like that could look good.  Another thought is having the wheels powdercoated with a clear; is that doable?  Opinions on what that would look like?  Part of me thinks it'd look kind of strange, part of me says it could look good, and a third part says it's not seen often so why not dare to be different.

I'm waiting for a crazy tire deal that may never come around at the stealership so it's not something I have to rush into, just figured that would be a good time to get the wheels redone... and a Kat 600 rear shock unit while I'm in there. 

Prices are all over the place, so shop around.  You have to remove the bearings (and buy new ones, you shouldn't reuse them)  I had both of my wheels done including sandblasting for $150, and these are primed, then near chrome finish with a blue translucent top coat.  I had another wheel done in gloss black for $30, but I had quotes at twice that.

[indywar360]

nice, very non-GS looking bike. not to change the subject, but re: bearing removal, where did you get the removal tool (I shopped for a while and couldnt find a moto-specific one) and is the removal tool absolutely necessary? Couldn't I just wing it?

Kyle

[D-Day]

nice, very non-GS looking bike. not to change the subject, but re: bearing removal, where did you get the removal tool (I shopped for a while and couldnt find a moto-specific one) and is the removal tool absolutely necessary? Couldn't I just wing it?

Kyle

No special tools needed.  I just used a hammer and a drift.

[GeeP]

I think sand is frowned upon for this kind of thing, what should be used?  Walnut shells?  Baking soda?   

Sand is acceptable, as long as the surface finish it leaves is smooth enough for the powdercoat to hide.  I think a "tooth" is required to bond powdercoat, so some surface roughness is advisable.  The powdercoater should do the blasting in-house, so let them worry about that.

Generally you should avoid blasting aluminum in the same cabinet as ferrous metals, but unless the abrasive is filled with iron dust I wouldn't lose a lot of sleep over it.   Avoid carbide or mystery abrasives, as they can set up corrosion.  Carbide will eat through that aluminum mystery metal faster than you can blink.   

[Wondertwin]

Glass bead should do the trick nicely.  It'll take the paint off well, leave some texture for the powdercoat to grab onto, and it won't eat a bunch of material off of your wheels.  Any powdercoater who knows what they are doing will mask the rotor mounting surface, rotor bolt holes, and bearing journals.  Still, it doesn't hurt to mention it.  Also, mask the bearing journals during blasting, as you do not want them oversized. 

The wheels on my new project GS need some attention too, but I'm probably just going to take off the tires, do a Duplicolor silver rattlecan paintjob, and put the tires back on.  Believe me, it'll look a heck of a lot better than it does now!