Wheel Refinish Complete

[Birdman]

ethan on vfr.JPG

Completed the wheel refinish on my black ’02 wheels, using veefer02’s style he showed to the forum a few weeks ago. The only difference was the clearcoat I applied. This was to protect the bare shiny aluminum as much as the painted castings. Ultimately, it will make wheel cleaning an easy chore.

Using HispanicSlammer’s instructions :thumbsup: (see http://www.vfrdiscussion.com/forum/index.p...ic=383&st=0 )to remove the black paint, I quickly got through this portion without a hitch. No need to duplicate his pics of this messy process. Just follow his steps to the T, including removing the wheels from the bike. I took my front fender off, too, which enabled me later to clean and wax its hard-to-reach areas. Not sure if it matters, but I labeled some parts (like the front rotors) with a Sharpie to make sure I re-installed them the same way they came off. The project also gave me the opportunity to inspect the brake pads for wear. I wedged something in the brake lever to prevent some nimrod (probably me) from squeezing it. :blink:

Since I planned on painting the rough areas of each wheel all along, it was unnecessary to get every last bit of paint off those sections. Honda really got the paint to stick, so it would have required numerous applications to remove it all. Most of the paint came off with the Jasco Premium, leaving the wheels with suitably clean, smooth surfaces.

Next, I polished the shiny portions with Blue Magic (about $6), then proceded to thoroughly wash and dry the wheels to start with a clean slate. Things started to look good! You can see in the pics that I left my tires on during my project. (New Pilot Powers lie in wait.) This made handling the wheels much easier, since I could lie them down without the rims touching the ground. Also, didn’t need to worry about a slippery rim bouncing off the concrete! :idea3:

vfr wheels taped.JPG

Masking off the polished sections took the most time – more than a third of my total project time of 7 hours. For the rear backside tines, I used various dull metal tools (side of round screwdriver shaft, 12mm socket, ratchet handle, etc.) to score the blue masking tape against the sharp edges on the rim, then tear the tape away. The frontside tines of the rear were simply masked. You need to be meticulous and patient during this step. Good background music helps a lot. Keeping the kids out of the garage also helps.

The rim portion of each wheel got hand-masked. Another tape might work better than the blue 3M stuff, but I don’t know how it would. The stuff is strong and slightly flexible and does not “over stick.” You need the flexibility for the many round turns. I used various tape widths, but consumed only a few bucks worth.

vfr wheels front masked.JPG

A single can of high quality spray paint worked for my job. I used Rustoleum Professional, in Safety Red. (It has a very slight yellower tint to it than the Honda red, but it’s difficult to detect this visually since the parts do not directly butt up against each other.) Make sure you constantly rotate the wheels during application, so you can get every nook and cranny. I sprayed outside my garage – don’t need any more brain damage than I already got. Hey, man, pass the… :wacko:

After closely inspecting the rims for uniform paint coverage, carefully remove the masking tape. Waiting too long to do this could result in dried paint coming off along with the tape. I had a fair amount of spray get underneath the tape in places. You can remove this one of two ways: (1) slightly moisten a clean cloth in lacquer thinner and carefully wipe away, or (2) wait until the paint dries and use your fingernail to scrape it off. You do not want to use the fingernail method too early, because you will deposit remnants on sticky paint. I found myself using a combination of these methods with great success. Polishing beforehand further prevents paint from adhering to those areas where you don’t want paint to stick.

vfr wheels painted masked.JPG

vfr wheels cans.JPG

I painted the lug holes next. In hindsight, perhaps it would’ve been better to do this first. Painting with the tires mounted made this less of an issue, since I did this with the wheel lying down flat. Masking is less critical here – just make sure to use something large enough to keep overspray to an absolute minimum. Paint does not stick to the shiny portion very well, so I ended up using my thinner-moistened cloth to remove paint residue around the holes.

vfr wheels lugs.JPG

After allowing time for the paint to fully cure and giving the wheels one final wipedown, apply a good quality clearcoat paint and you are done. The best type would probably shoot thru a paint gun and comprise separate epoxy and hardener. That could cost over sixty bucks, provided you own the equipment to start with. Another member mentioned a product called Everbrite (Nyalic overseas) which runs about $32 USD plus $6 shipping (mail order only). This 16 oz can will do the equivalent of five or six wheels and has a long shelf life. Keep it for touchup and for other projects. It is amazing stuff. Just make sure your wheels are super clean and dry before application. My preference was for the brush-on method over the spray can. It required a quick remasking of just a few areas where I didn’t need clearcoat, like the front wheelbearings.

Also, pray that the knucklehead at the shop doesn’t do anything to mar your masterpiece when he changes your tires. Let everything dry a day or two and re-assemble the Viffer. Ride hard and often. Total materials the cheap route cost about $25. Using Everbrite brought the cost to about $60. Total effort approx 7 hours spread over a 3-day period. I work deliberately, so a more experienced mechanic could do it in much less time.

vfr1.JPG

Edited June 25, 2007 by Birdman

[KanadianKen]

real cool write up - makes me think about doing something similar. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to check out Slammers how to....

If I did this - I'd want the entire rime to be the base metal only - no paint. :thumbsup:

[wingsvfr781]

That looks really good. It's a nice way to finish the non-polished sections and stands out much better than black. Good job! B)

[Hobie1dog]

Truly Unique......nice job

[vanion2]

Dayamn!!! :o The hotness....very nice! :thumbsup:

[tinyminds]

Neeto!

[SEBSPEED]

Looks great!! I hope you'll add a post in about 6 months to let us know how everything is holding up?

[Guest waterkc]

Very nice, a little time and some thought makes all the difference. Well done

[TimC]

Those look great! Nice work. :thumbsup:

[Birdman]

real cool write up - makes me think about doing something similar. Thanks for sharing. I'll have to check out Slammers how to....

If I did this - I'd want the entire rime to be the base metal only - no paint. :thumbsup:

I'm the sort who takes an idea and either tries to improve on it or do it an easier way. This time, I hope I accomplished both. The clearcoat will make all the difference in the world - probably moreso for you if they put salt on your roads and you ride in foul weather. Further, I planned my work so it hit when I would swap out for new rubber. Not riding for ten days was not my favorite thing, tho.

The Everbrite clearcoat goes on like putting varnish on a tabletop. In retrospect, their spray-on variation would've been better for the wheels, but I planned to use it for a few other projects around my house.

Just remember, Ken, that getting the last remnants of paint off the cast portions of the wheels is a beeyaatch. So figure on looking something like this: :idea3:

[Camarkim]

Maybe I'll see this in person on Sunday...Good job! -Mark

[Veefer800Canuck]

Nice Job. Too much red, IMO, but life is full of choices.

I would prefer the same treatment, but in black instead. Strip the shiny areas, leave the rest factory black.

Lots of work and perseverance on your part, it turned out nicely. I hope the clearcoat does the trick.

[Birdman]

Nice Job. Too much red, IMO, but life is full of choices.

I would prefer the same treatment, but in black instead. Strip the shiny areas, leave the rest factory black.

Lots of work and perseverance on your part, it turned out nicely. I hope the clearcoat does the trick.

Thanks for the kind words. It briefly occurred to me to do in in silver & black. But that's the Raiders' colors. And I can't stand the Raiders. It would probably look outstanding, but the thought of it sickened me. :angry:

[VFRiderGal]

Hey Bird... wanna do my wheels? LOL Yours came out beautiful!

Veefer02 is a good friend and he's been trying to talk me into doing my wheels ever since I got the VFR. He's a super nice guy with a wealth of knowledge.

[veefer02]

Hey Bird... wanna do my wheels? LOL Yours came out beautiful!

Veefer02 is a good friend and he's been trying to talk me into doing my wheels ever since I got the VFR. He's a super nice guy with a wealth of knowledge.

Awww, shucks, I'm blushin'...

Bird, awesome job on the wheels! :thumbsup:

You did say that the job took a bit longer than you anticipated, but look at the results, man.

You'll be the envy of your viffer-pals.

[Brown81]

Thanks for the kind words. It briefly occurred to me to do in in silver & black. But that's the Raiders' colors. And I can't stand the Raiders. It would probably look outstanding, but the thought of it sickened me. :beer:

Grrrr. :goofy: You should painted the exposed area gold, then you could be a Sporty Winer, oops I mean Forty Niner fan!! Hehe.

Poor taste in football aside, I like the look, good job!!

I like the look of the 6th gen rear wheel. I'd like to do that, only silver and black! Anybody know off hand if it will bolt to a 4th gen (I know, use the search)? I'd rather have a 180 rear, as it's easier to find tires, too. Should be millions around, since everyone seems to trade to the 8-spoker....

[Birdman]

Thanks for the kind words. It briefly occurred to me to do in in silver & black. But that's the Raiders' colors. And I can't stand the Raiders. It would probably look outstanding, but the thought of it sickened me. :angry:

Grrrr. :pissed: You should painted the exposed area gold, then you could be a Sporty Winer, oops I mean Forty Niner fan!! Hehe.

Poor taste in football aside, I like the look, good job!!

I like the look of the 6th gen rear wheel. I'd like to do that, only silver and black! Anybody know off hand if it will bolt to a 4th gen (I know, use the search)? I'd rather have a 180 rear, as it's easier to find tires, too. Should be millions around, since everyone seems to trade to the 8-spoker....

Don't go there, Brown. I am a HUGE 49er fan. All the way back to John Brodie and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and

Thanks for the nice words, again, Brown. Wish I still lived in NorCal. You'd be a riding buddy for sure.

Fred

[Jon28]

Congrats...that sure looks sharp! I think I am going to have mine powdercoated......too much elbow grease required for the polished look!

[dude]

Birdman nice job and how to on the refinish :thumbsup:

Ken, maybe you can do my rims friday while i'm changing your fork oil :squid:

[Guest uclajoebruin]

Very, very nice! :thumbsup: Maybe you could do mine in all red some day

[Rice]

Very cool!

Great job!

I can especially appreciate the effort, since I stripped my rear wheel after reading slammer's how-to.

The taping has got to be the toughest and the most time consuming part of the deal.

Looks like you came out on top. Enjoy. :thumbsup:

[Brown81]

Don't go there, Brown. I am a HUGE 49er fan. All the way back to John Brodie and Joe Montana and Jerry Rice and :blink:

Thanks for the nice words, again, Brown. Wish I still lived in NorCal. You'd be a riding buddy for sure.

Fred

Hehe, cool. Battle of the Bay! I'll go ahead and give you this: Montana was the greatest QB ever, hands down. Jerry was the greatest WR ever! Now, who says Raider fans are unreasonable?

That said, my favorite QB is Stabler. My fav WR is of course, is Touchdown Timmy Brown #81 !! :thumbsup:

We're lucky to have two great football AND baseball teams here!

If you ever get back to the area, we'll go for a ride down Mines Rd.

[1TallTXn]

Very nice job :thumbsup:

I'd love to do a similar job, but like Ken, I'd go all aluminum.

Either that or Gold to go with the Subaru blue on the bike

[NYMBYSS]

nice , looks good. :beer:

[Birdman]

I wanted to show this posting to a guy at work, only to discover much of it got lost in translation when HS did the recent upgrade. It now is reasonably close to the original, with most of the same pics.

Perhaps the Mods will "pin it" again...