I would really appreciate your views on this, im hitting s bit of a brick wall with my wheels

I sent away for a couple of quotations on my wheels recently, to be blasted, trued (plus replce the odd spoke) and powder coat BS381C 223 Middle Bronze Green (matt). The costs coming back are between £350 and £400 - which I simply cant afford. This doesnt even include anything to do with bearings or postage etc.

Having read previous posts im guesiing that painting the wheel isnt as straight forward as it looks given the nipples should still be maintainable and the spokes will naturaly move around during use, cracking any paint at junctions etc.

So, my options are:

1. Fork out the money and dont eat for a month
2. Buy new wheels which will probably be cheaper overall (would be pretty pointless consideirng the rest of the bike is pretty original)
3. Do it myself

I'm leaning towards option 3 - and thats where the knowledge of the forum comes in!!

1. If i take the whole wheel apart I can strip them clean myself, I have a stripping wheel which will do the rim, the other parts will fit inside the blast cabinet. Once these are ready for powder coating - can I protect them with a coat of primer or something - or do they need to be bare metal to be powder coated?

2. I presume I should get the parts coated seperately, so the parts can move freely once assembled.

3. Is powder coating really necessary? Or would 'normal' paint do?

4. Once painted and assembled, will the forces of tightening up the spokes crack the finish on the powder coat / paint where the spokes meet the hub / rim?

5. Should I really be looking to replace all the spokes/nipples as a matter of course anyway?

6. As a fairly experienced mechanic, I can manage most repair tasks myself - but I've never in my life built a wheel - what are the chances of me being able to do this myself?

Really sorry for all the questions but I just dont know how to proceed on this one! I've attached a couple photos so you can get a feel for the wheel condition (good).

Thanks,

Andy

email (option): adh325@hotmail.com

The Norton factory records show that wheels for the WD machines were assembled and then painted complete. If spokes needed tensioning then yes, the paint would crack off but then it's a WD machine, isn't it ?

My wheels were in good condition so I had them blasted and sprayed with etch primer (this wasn't expensive) and then painted them with two pack.

I don't know how powder coat would cope with complete wheels. I hate the stuff with a vengeance and would never again put it near a motorcycle or anything else that I valued.

You should be able to replace just one or two spokes carefully. Otherwise, it's a case of measuring offsets and perhaps most easily building yourself a simple jig before dismantling.

It's a funny old world...I have all the parts of my WD bikes powder coated prior to painting..there is nothing much, in my opinion, that provides a better base coat than properly applied powder coating.
However, you must rub it over to provide a good 'key' for the other paint layers before commencing spraying.
I have just completed a NOS wheel that I bought on e bay in readiness for the winter rebuild on my M20.
I had the tension of the spokes checked and retensioned as required before it went to the powder coaters. It is now flatted back and ready for spraying.
My powder coaters, like most, provide a blasting service as well.
The powder coat is applied to bare metal but there is a high zinc base coat they can apply by the same methods.
Once coated and finish sprayed the spokes cannot be tensioned without damaging the surface coat..but that really applies to any painted finish and truthfully, how often do they require attention?
I haven't done anything to my current wheels for at least 40,000 miles.
The price you have been quoted seems quite high..either they are an expensive powder coaters or they are charging you a premium for that particular colour, or both. Have you considered having them coated in a 'stock' colour and then spraying them the correct colour afterwards? That may be more cost effective...Ian

email (option): ian@wright52.plus.com

Like Ian said..."It's a funny old world."

For my 2 cents worth: If the wheel is basically sound, fix what needs to be fixed, like the "odd spoke". Make it run true, clean, primer, paint and run it. Keep an eye toward safety by all means.

"If it aint broke, don't fix it."

Powder coat is fine for frames, brackets and the like where they are basically "fixed" on the bike. However there is nothing like a good coat of repairable paint for everything else.

Powder coat is a plastic, and is a lot thicker than paint. I did a B25 frame in powder and spend a lot of time removing it to make things fit again.

It's personal choice in the end though.

email (option): britool51@hotmail.com

I have my spare rims double-powder coated in RAL 6014; that makes them tyre-change proof! After that, I can spray my favourite drab colour. My current rims show ugly rust at the places where tyre irons were used.
The galvanized spokes were also powder-coated; I made a jig consisting of two 1 meter long strips bolted together and clamping all 40 spokes with the nipples; they can then be grit-blasted and coated:


When spoking the wheel, I smear a tiny bit of grease between the rim and the nipple so that I can correctly tension the spokes.

email (option): viaconsu # planet dot nl

You will never be able to unscrew every nipple to redo the rim, believe me. You will probably break half of them. Just blast and paint if it runs true enough.

I think youre all right, im probably going over the top considering their current condition. I guess I just wanted to do the rebuild justice, and do it right. But at the same time it's a military workhorse and it's not supposed to be perfect.

email (option): Adh325@hotmail.com