Wheels - hammerite..?

Howdy y'all.  Powder coated SW wheels look great and offers good,long term protection (I understand).  However, at about £100 squids a wheel it is rather jolly expensive.  Has anyone ever painted their SW wheels with hammerite or other durable paint?  Was the finish any good?  Is it lasting well?  Has anybody any suggestions for an economically viable alternative to powder coating..?

And how does one establish the precise colour of one's SWing?  Mine seems to be quite a sparkly dark blue.

Thanks, chaps.  


  Starcross Jack.

If I remember the color code of the scooter is on the info sheet under the seat.

I had both wheels powder coated gloss black at a local shot blaster/powder coating works for £30.00 per wheel, they made a good job of them and made a vast improvement to the looks. I have not used hammerite for some years but I used gloss black metal paint from Aldi to paint a Vmax frame and it turned out very good, I just thinned it down and painted the frame with several coats using the sponge side of a pan scourer, it came out smooth shiny with no runs or marks and cheaper than Hammerite and I think a better finish.

Pud.

Thanks, Paul. but I see no info sheet under the seat, just some advice about loads in the storage space.

Thanks, Pud. That does sound like a good price, I'll have to make some enquiries. Is the Aldi paint tough? Chip proof?

Cheers, Jack.

I painted my rear wheel off my KLV1000 recently. I went to the local car body shop paint supplier. He can make up 2 pack (same principal as Araldite) paint in aerosol cans. As it's 2 pack, it is very tough and goes on very glossy. The can has to be used within a few hours as the paint will go "off". They can match whatever colour you want.

Powder coating can end up with little "bubbles", or craters where the gases in the porous alloy can blow out the powder coating when heated.

If painting a wheel, buy a pack of cheap playing cards and deflate the tyre. Push the playing cards between the rim and the tyre to mask the tyre from the paint. easier than masking tape and reusable after paint dries.

Jaquesaulait, I don't know if its chip proof or not but I found it OK for what I needed it for, also used it on my gates to good effect. Flyingpanman am I right in thinking 2K paint can be pretty nasty stuff to use unless you have the proper equipment. With regard to powder coating creating little bubbles who is going to get down on hands and knees to inspect the finish, mine was ok for me and a lot better than they originally looked, and a lot easier to clean. I personally would go for powder coating to painting but its your choice, Whatever decision you make I hope they turn out alright.

Pud.

I had the fuselage tubes of an amateur built aircraft powder coated to protect them from corrosion. It was a float plane operating on fresh and saltwater in Alaska which is subject to rust. The powdered areas never did rust, peel or chip. I think that process is far superior to paint in protecting exposed metal. I wouldn't hesitate using it again on bike wheels or such. It wasn't quite as smooth and glossy as several well sanded coats of good quality paint would be but I'd think well acceptable for wheels.

Easyrider wrote:

Jaquesaulait,
I would not recommend using any rattle can spray paints. I painted my Swing wheels with Rustoleum silver paint when changing my tires. After two days drying, I installed new tires. The tire irons damaged the paint at the edge. Had to do some touch up to hide the damage. Go for the powder coating.

Any professional tyre fitters should be using a machine with nylon sliders that protect the rim. DIY with tyre irons is far more likely to end in damage.

Two pack paint can be nasty stuff over prolonged periods and has been banned from general bodyshop use here in the UK, BUT one aerosol used with a normal paper-type facemask shouldn't be a problem.

Another tough paint would be POR14, although I've only used it on centre stands and side-stands (but with very good results so far)

I had my alloy wheels powder coated and the corroded areas had bubbled (and quite easy to see from a distance) despite being bead blasted. Fortunately, it was the hard-to-see rear wheel. Cast alloy wheels have a certain amount of porosity - more so that extruded alloy. Powder coating is also good on steel but can be difficult to touch up as any paints used will not bond very well with it.

Besides degreasing, the surface needs wet and/or dry sanding and any bare alloy will need etch-priming prior to painting.