I am wondering if there is any easily available paint that I can get to paint my motorcycle spokes (wire type) black. I will need something that will hold up well to the kind of abuses a wheel sees.
Rustoleum? Hammerite?

I am gonna have to prime these first ofcourse, so a primer suggestion is welcome.

Some may be wondering, "why I dont just get them powdercoated?" Ans: Because I have no interest in rebuilding spoked motorcycle wheels, at all! I will be painting my fork lowers black as well so something that will work on aluminum would be cool.

Thanks!

Maybe some SEM self etching primer to really get it to stick and then a coat of SEM primer and color it with SEM bumper black.

SEM? I am not familiar with them, I'll have to check. Are they available at the local shops usually? I was just reading through the KBS catalog and was considering their self etching primer as it does sound like what I will need, but that is mail order which adds shipping

powder cost them may be best ???

ask scottyb

Mike,

I think that 99% of automotive paint places carry it. They offer all kinds of different paints in aerosol form.

The have a black that is used for under bumper and rocker protection that might fit the bill for your spokes.

Scotty already said he would do it, but powder coating has some inherrent issues that I dont want to deal with:

- I would have to dissassemble the wheel and send him the spokes. This means that I would have to build a jig to reassemble and ballance the wheel once the spokes were done. I am not interested in rebuilding a wheel at the moment.

- The front wheel already has a tire on it = time and money, or I take it off = time and damage, and money.

- I could leave the wheel assembeld, maybe, but then I would have to take the bearings out and the reassemble them (not as straight forward as you may think on a old BMW) and agian I would have to have the tire removed.

At this point it seems easir for me to just get some good self etching primer and a tough paint to put on the spokes and forks. If it ends up looking like shit or not holding up I can always touch it up until I am making fat doctor money and have all of the free time in the world to have them powder coated


Thanks for the tip, Allan. I found a couple of local suppliers on the SEP site. This should be interesting...

I know why you want to, I had aluminum wheels on my beemer, and I had the guy use the same paint that we painted the bike with.
It held up perfectly fine, and it was a breeze to wash off the brake dust and hose it down clean.

Just use the same paint you would use on a car, single stage is fine for that application, and its really hard paint.

Local auto supply house will have the ability to mix up a batch of normal car paint for you, and you buy the proper thinner for it. Then look on the shelf for the aerosol spray rigs, it is a glass jar for the paint, and a removable aerosol cartridge...they also have the cartridges at the store.

http://www.spaceagepaint.com/product_detai...?id_product=326

Rich

This sounds like the ticket. Some paint stores will even mix up a spray can for ya. The one back home in CA would for like $10.

The spray cans are just never the same one batch to the next IMHO.

That little spray thing lets you work at your own pace, and each time you mix it, you can come out with the same product/shade at the end.

I have the full assortment of guns, compressor, and air brush.
I still like those things, cause for a single job, its just faster, and easier, and all you need to clean is the glass jar...

Rich

Mike as far as the spray bombs go, I have gotten to where when I (rarely ) use them I ONLY use the Rustoleum " Proffessional" cans. They seem to spray ALOT more evenly and hold up alittle better. They are the ones with a herd hat on them. For some reason they don't run as easily either It's also beginning to look alot more like I will be leaving the powder coating business soon. I have been werking part time at 2 other restoration shops lately and the both are conspiring to get me out of the P.C. business and split my time between them. One of them currently has 3 E-types, an AC Bristol, 2 68 Camaros going on rotisserries, a 442 olds convertible, a REAL Shelby GT convertible and........a ........914 The other shop is my old job doing the Italian cars. 2 of the 3 cars I kept waiting on to show up finally did and he has 3 more lined up

Good for you man! I am glad you are in a feast mode instead of famine. There is no way I am getting these powder coated as it woudl take too much work on my part. I will either do it with spray/brush, or not at all at this point. My garage time is dwindling to nil as year III approaches.

Why can I not just brush it on? It is mainly going onto spokes. Ya know, like 1/8" or so around. Its not like there will be brush marks to see, or a surface that will betray them. As for the fork lowers, I am less worried about them retaining any paint as they are more rigid and have more of a surface area. I am worried about the spokes cracking and peeling right after I am done.

Jimminy Christmas! Why not just pour a couple of gallons of black rustoleo in a big ass bucket and dip the whole front assembly in it ??? Is this how you plan to medicinize people? BRUSH on the solution ?? ......ferchristsake I thought I raised you right boy........dammit go get me another beer

Now I am definetly brushing it on

I think that it might be easier to finger paint them.

Rich