i just ordered a replacement front wheel for my bike and the purple katana wheel doesn't quite match my black gs. i was wondering if anyone had a particularly good method for repainting rims? i guess my first big question is should i get the tire mounted then paint or paint and then get it mounted? any input would be appreciated.

thanks

I would have the tires mounted first to avoid any scrapes that may occur during tire installation.

I basically spent a good deal of time with some painters tape and a razor blade to stuff the tape right underneath the bead area of the rim to insure no chemicals or paint got on the tire while painting.

1.) Wash and Dry Rim/Tire Combo
2.) Tape up Tire and any other items you don't want paint on.
3.) Apply heavy coats of paint stripper, let chemicals do it's magic, scrape paint off, repeat as needed. I used 2 applications.
4.) Hose off Rim/Tire with water to remove left over paint and or stripper residue.
5.) Sand and or repair any flaws in rim.
6.) Wipe down entire rim with either Alcohol, Brake Clean o similar product to remove all traces of chemicals, be sure not to touch afterwards with bare fingers, it will transfer oil and may affect final finish.
7.) 2 Coats of Primer, I sanded after 2nd coat, clean residue off with soap and water.
8.) Apply Color, Wet sand.
9.) Apply Clear.

Screw that sheite ... knock the bearings out (they die in 2-10 years anyway) and powdercoat them. 30-50 bucks and no elbow grease and the damn thing is thick enough and on there strong enough to stand armageddon.
Cool.
Buddha.

Quote from: The Buddha on July 08, 2008, 07:27:42 PM
Screw that sheite ... knock the bearings out (they die in 2-10 years anyway) and powdercoat them. 30-50 bucks and no elbow grease and the damn thing is thick enough and on there strong enough to stand armageddon.
Cool.
Buddha.

Or theres that route.....

I would like to see how a wheel balances before and after being powder coated.

here's a cool trick for wheel painting when tires are mounted (if you can, do it with the tires off, it's easier)

take an old deck of 51 playing cards, and shove them in between the tire and the rim. Thus, makes taping off the tire 1000x easier, and you get paint where it needs to go and not where it doesn't

Quote from: The Buddha on July 08, 2008, 07:27:42 PM
Screw that sheite ... knock the bearings out (they die in 2-10 years anyway) and powdercoat them. 30-50 bucks and no elbow grease and the damn thing is thick enough and on there strong enough to stand armageddon.
Cool.
Buddha.

I'm with buddha on this one.... nicely done for the "poor man's" budget, but for 60-75 I can get both wheels done powder-coated. (includes sandblasting cleane up that will always be better than a hand sanding IMHO.

as for weight differences, you wont see alot, Since I will be getting my katana wheel powder coated before I install it, I will weight it, and keep you updated.

I was interested in its balance, not weight.
Does powder coating go on evenly and not affect the balance?
This balance is of the wheel only not the wheel with installed tire.

Fry,
What is the benefit of color sanding before the clear?  Doesn't that mess up the metallic flake???

Didn't seem to, it knocked down the minimal Orange Peel affect.

The Chemical stripping cleaned everything off of the rim, sure sand blasting with a fine media would have been nice but I was to lazy to knock the bearings out.

I would have liked to Powder Coat them but I have a limited budget and I have far less than the 50-75 Powder Coating would have cost me, to each there own.

On a 1996 GSXR750, that I had the Rims Chromed, I always had trouble getting them balanced, perhaps it was the Chrome, who knows though.

Quote from: dgyver on July 09, 2008, 08:47:33 AM
I was interested in its balance, not weight.
Does powder coating go on evenly and not affect the balance?
This balance is of the wheel only not the wheel with installed tire.

wheels are powdercoated from the factory, so yeah, you'd be fine

is it necessary to strip the old paint? would it make much of a difference if i just sanded the old paint and then applied the primer and paint on top of it?

Who Knows.

My wheels were chipped and losing paint when I got the bike and looked crummy. I had the tires removed, rubbed down the wheels with a soft wire brush and some wire wool, wiped down with thinners and then sprayed with an aerosol  of Ace white gloss enamel paint. Gave them two coats and let them air dry a few days to harden. Had my local shop fit new tires, and they look like new. Easy. 

Is that a H-1? Nice 2 Smoker

And whats up with the lower fork legs on your GS, what are the canisters?

sweet well it looks like my wheel is gettin a rattle can job tomorrow. i'll post up some before and after pics when i'm done

oh one last question. since i'm painting the wheel without the tire installed should i worry about overspray on the inside of the rim? i don't really see it being an issue. but should i bother to tape off the inside of the rim (where the tire will sit when mounted)?

Don't worry about inside of the rim/

I just painted a rim for the race bike with black appliance epoxy enamel. It was like 50 cents more than regular rattlecan. Washed the wheel carefully, taped up the bearings, did three relatively light coats. Looks race-bike perfect! (no drips, that is). Stuff seems rock-hard, although mounting at the track will scuff the edges. I use a Sharpie to fix the scrapes. Looks excellent in the on-track pics ...