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Wheel Polishing


HispanicSlammer

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  • 1 month later...
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This is my first project this winter when the snow starts to fly. In looking at the rear wheel one side (exhaust side) is finished smooth and the other side is rough cast. AB-Oz's wheels look great, that is the look which I am going to attempt to duplicate, I like the contrast of the polished and the black, has anybody tried to polish the wheels with out using the paint stripper? I have seen where you use a polishing wheel with a high grit polishing compound to remove the paint. I would like to polish only the smooth areas of the wheels and leave the black paint on the rough cast areas, rather than removing all of the paint then repainting the ares that I want black. I am concerned about the paint stripper seeping under masking tape and damaging the factory applied paint.

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<font color='#000000'>They get dirty of course, but the upkeep is about as much as they were before, getting the chain wax off, tar from the road, ?They dont seem to tarnish its aluminum. ?Just about the same as the oem paint wheels. :beer:</font>

I don't agree, although it may depend on the original colour/type of finish.

I had white painted wheels on my 1990 VFR750, and because they were quite chipped and scratched, decided to strip them. It took me about 4 hours to strip, clean and polish (with Autosol) both wheels.

I found that they actually took LESS work once stripped, as the road spooge and brake dust didn't tend to stick as much to the polished metal as it did to the paint, probably due to some electrostatic thing with the paint. Instead of needing some elbow grease and heavy-duty cleaner, most of the grime came off very readily with the hose. Also, any grime that was presetn didn't stand out as much.

The silver painted wheels on my current bike seem to be somewhere in between the polished 750's wheels and the white paint, and the bikes I've had with black-painted wheels it was easy to ignore the grime as it didn't show up as badly.

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<font color='#FF0000'>are the 90-93 wheels polished under the paint.I noticed that the older wheels are smoother than the new ones do you know if they have to be polished?</font>

The spokes on the 90-93 wheels are roughcast, whereas on the VFR800 they're smooth. Rims are polished on both bikes.

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The spokes on the 90-93 wheels are roughcast, whereas on the VFR800 they're smooth. Rims are polished on both bikes.

Close....the centres of all modern Honda wheels are roughcast, but in the case of some wheels they are also machined. This applies to the 98-01 VFR rear wheel and the 02+ RC51 front and rear wheels. The wheel is cast, then machined, then anodized bright silver, then painted.

Paint stripper only takes off the paint, which is good since the bright silver anodizing on the machined parts of the wheel underneath shines up nicely. Anodizing gives a dull finish on rough cast parts, which is why the centres turn out a darker color.

Important: The wheels ARE NOT polished under the paint. The anodized finish is not as shiny as bare aluminum but very close. The anodizing is what keeps the wheel from tarnishing like bare aluminum does. If you polish off the anodized finish the wheel will be shinier but require more maintenance.

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I'm down to the wear bars again and will need new rubber before springtime so I think I'll be searching for someone here in the Denver area to acid dip them for me at a reasonable price. I don't see myself scraping away at paint on a snowy day. Since I've never personally removed the front wheel, what do I need to do before taking it in to be stripped besides removing the rotors? Bearings? How?

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First, you remove the calipers, you may find it easier to loosen the bolts on the rotors before removing the axle and then removing the rotors. Then loosen the clamps on the axle,unscrew the axle and cautiously remove it while supporting the weight of the wheel so as to not damage the treads. Rotors bend easily so don't allow the wheel to lay on them. Remove both rotors. You have the 2 bearings and center spacer to remove. You can push the spacer off to one side that allows access to the bearings at either end. Using a long drift or flat end punch, evenly tap out one bearing at a time. Don't miss and hit the seal on the bearings. After you have removed the components and the tire and valve stem, find someone with an aluminum vat to throw the wheel in. They have carb cleaner in them. If you have your wheel blasted, you will have more work to do. An engine machine shop would be where I would go to find the vat. An engine vat is caustic and will destroy the wheel in minutes. So, make sure it's only carb cleaner or something else similar. It is possible to use aircraft grade paint stripper also. If your wheels are high mileage, you should consider replacing the bearings. The rotor bolts may be very tight. Make sure you have the correct size tool that's not rounded to avoid rounding a bolt.

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You might want to consider a new set of rotor bolts. Friend of mine replaced a front rotor but not the bolt and snapped the head off one - probably cost him more to get it extracted than a new set of bolts would have been.

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  • 1 month later...
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For all those of you who have done the stripping/polishing on their rims; how are they holding up to weathering?

What is the maintenance like?

I am seriously thinking about doing the same because it looks so sharp.

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I did my wheels a little over a year ago in the same fashion as AB-oz. I left the spokes and inner areas black and just did the edges. I left the wheels on the bike and just did a section at a time. It took about 2.5 hours per wheel on a Sat/Sun. I used a spray can of "Aircraft Paint Remover" specifically made for aluminum. Once complete I waxed the rims with a Teflon Marine Wax that can be found at most Boat Stores. The wheels stay shiny for about six months and then it just takes a good cleaning with a rag and reapplication of the wax. The dissimilar metal corrosion will only happen if the two metals remain in contact with each other. As long as you wash the wheel after using the steel wool it is fine. Check my Gallery for pics. Best of luck to all.

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For all those of you who have done the stripping/polishing on their rims; how are they holding up to weathering?

What is the maintenance like?

I am seriously thinking about doing the same because it looks so sharp.

I highly recommend just polishing the outer rims (the smooth part), and leaving the spokes and centers (cast part, where you stick wheel weights) painted. Check the "Motovation frame sliders fitted" thread for the pictures of ROD's bike. IMO, it looks even better on a red bike. The outer rims are really easy to keep clean and re-polish during normal cleaning of the bike, adding maybe another 10 minutes to the routine when necessary. If you polish the whole front wheel, and don't have it anodized, it's going to be a nightmare keeping it looking good. Maybe not so bad if you don't ride in the wet, but very bad if you ride in the winter where they salt the roads.

If you can get the paint off (without having to use abrasives) and leave the anodization intact, that would be the way to go. I wasn't successful with that using the JASCO gel stripper, which took off maybe 1/3 of the paint. Unfortunately, it also bled or soaked through the masking tape I used which took paint off of the smooth face of the rear wheel. So, I spent probably 4 hours on each wheel, and had to do some touch-up on the rear with model paint (lacquer-based), which ended up looking fine.

Edited by fallzboater
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If you polish the whole front wheel, and don't have it anodized, it's going to be a nightmare keeping it looking good.  Maybe not so bad if you don't ride in the wet, but very bad if you ride in the winter where they salt the roads.

If you can get the paint off (without having to use abrasives) and leave the anodization intact, that would be the way to go.  I wasn't successful with that using the JASCO gel stripper, which took off maybe 1/3 of the paint.

Besides being messy and a PITA, this is the main reason why I got my wheels commercially stripped, which removes 100% of the paint but does not affect the anodization underneath.

Using anything abrasive on the wheel is a no-no. If you are going to do the wheels yourself I agree that the best route is to do just the smooth outer rims - this area will clean up fairly easily.

If you really want a 'chrome' looking wheel, I would just get it chromed. For me, polished aluminum is fine where you can get at it without disassembly, but not anywhere else.

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  • 3 months later...
<font color='#810541'>You can visit the gallery and see how I did mine, there are sections on the spokes that are just cast and not polished, After a year of having them polished there was some sections that had been stained by road salt or acid rain, anyway there were places that had become stained and would not come off without scrubbing hard with steel wool.

On my spokes I put a wire cup on my portable grinder and cleaned them up with a power scrubbing, they look much better now. Some of the brake dust and the paint would not come off in the corners, I used a handheld brass wire brush when I first stripped that off. The brass wire cup attachement to my grinder really make it look shiny on the spokes. I wore a leather apron gloves and safety glasses when I cleaned them up.

http://www.delmiguel.topcities.com/gallery/polish</font>

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  • 3 weeks later...
Guest jb61059

I have now taken the paint off the outer rims of both wheels (I'm leaving the spokes black). Unfortunately I sanded them to bare aluminum so any protection the aluminum had is gone. I have seen several different solutions, but thought I would re-ask just to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I think "navyhelodrvr" used Teflon Marine Wax but I'm not sure if he sanded to bare aluminum or not.

I have sanded the rear rim to 1000 grit and will polish this weekend. Then I'll do the same with the front wheel. I have to be honest, I'm a bit nervous. I hope I have not created a situation that will be difficult (i.e. expensive) to remedy.

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  • 1 month later...
Guest hksimpson

There are clear coats available that are specifically designed for wheels that would protect your finish and do so way better than any kind of wax. I used it when I re-painted the wheels on my car.

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Guest jvafyr

I used Dupli-Color High Performance Wheel Coating in clear coat to protect my polished wheels.

I went a slightly different route though i started with 320 sandpaper working up to 600 in opposing directions everytime i changed grits. Then went with a felt wheel and some white then blue polishing compounds. I then painted the cast sections with Dupli-Color titanium and then cleared the whole wheel . Finished wheel has no machine marks shines up very nicely.

I think they came out pretty good, check out my gallery to see for yourself.

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  • 3 months later...
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There are many mis-conceptions, mis-understandings in this thread. I have worked in the aluminum industry, metal fab., and metal processing industries most of my long career. This may be a long post.

First, the entire wheel is cast, not just the spokes. The inside of the spokes are rough because Honda chose not to polish them out smooth....read, Honda makes cheap aluminum wheels that look cheap compared to other bike brands, one of which is sitting in my garage.

Paint DOES NOT adhere to anodizing. The wheels are not anodized underneath the paint. I have worked around anodizing for years and the anodizing process is for the purpose of protection and appearance. It is a very expensive process done correctly. Paint only adheres to aluminum after the BARE aluminum has been through a chemical conversion coating process.

Some people are apparently doing a good job of removing the paint and polishing whatever alloy Honda is using. Unless the polished surfaces are either clear coated or "brite dip" anodized, the exposed aluminum WILL pit and corrode in time. The more pollutants and chemicals (oil, water, dirt, brake dust, etc.) the aluminum is exposed to, the faster the surface deterioration. Follow up polishing periodically will offset this.

When I find a place that offers polished wheels, including the spokes, that then brite dip anodizes the wheels, I'll buy a set. These places probably exist, I just don't know of them.

Call me full of shit if you want but I have designed different alloys for different applications, designed and managed a huge anodizing line that was the most state of the art line in the world at the time and understand the process better than most people involved in anodizing anywhere. I have equal experience with painting aluminum and other metals.

This is not for the purpose of tooting my horn ( I've about had enough of messing with metals) but for the purpose of clearing some mis-understandings. My VFR has the stock wheels with the stock shameful quality paint job. The paint is even cheap and is hiding some very poor quality castings.

I would very much like to have a fully polished set of VFR rims for my ride. I would ONLY buy rims that are fully polished then brite dip anodized. Clear coating will work until the coating is dinged with rocks, scratches, etc. Then the aluminum underneath will corrode in time.

It's all easy if money isn't a factor. :rolleyes:

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Good info there, Bent. Some questions for you:

1. What's 'brite dip' anodising? I take it it gives a more polished look than normal anodising.

2. What's on the frame of the 4th Gen? and what's the best way to cut through it in order to polish the frame?

In Oz we have a few companies that strip and nickel-plate wheels - looks good, like a cross between the harsh look of chrome and the soft lustre of polished aluminium, has a bit of a gold hue to it. Pricey though.

I've had my wheels fully polished since 1999 and they still look good, just need a bit of work from time to time. I recommend California Custom Purple polish for the most low-effort/high polish result around (and believe me I've used a lot of polishes). I have some Nyalic now and will coat the wheels with it when I get around to cleaning them up again, Nyalic is one of the better clearcoats available.

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Good info there, Bent. Some questions for you:

1. What's 'brite dip' anodising? I take it it gives a more polished look than normal anodising.

2. What's on the frame of the 4th Gen? and what's the best way to cut through it in order to polish the frame?

In Oz we have a few companies that strip and nickel-plate wheels - looks good, like a cross between the harsh look of chrome and the soft lustre of polished aluminium, has a bit of a gold hue to it. Pricey though.

I've had my wheels fully polished since 1999 and they still look good, just need a bit of work from time to time. I recommend California Custom Purple polish for the most low-effort/high polish result around (and believe me I've used a lot of polishes). I have some Nyalic now and will coat the wheels with it when I get around to cleaning them up again, Nyalic is one of the better clearcoats available.

Hey Phantom,

I'll answer your questions backwards.

I don't know what's on the frame of a 4th Gen. so can't answer that one with facts. Haven't met one live and in person. I've only had a VFR for a few months but have had other go fast bikes long ago so it isn't taking long to get used to riding the VFR.

Anodizing comes in many processes for different results, so won't take a lot of time in going into the details.

Brite Dip is generally for aluminum that is polished smooth and bright first (takes special alloys), then cleaned super clean, dipped in an acid tank and electricity shot through the rack and parts on the anodizing rack. That means, anodizing is an electro-chemical process. Brite Dip creates a clear surface of aluminum oxide (one of the hardest materials on the scale) and protects the aluminum surface partly by closing up the pores on the aluminum surface and partly by sealing the aluminum from outside influences (corrosion).

Anodizing isn't a coating or plating but rather a change in the properties of the surface of the aluminum to a pre-determined depth. Depth determined by time in the tank, or other factors that essentially add up to the same thing. It's a great process but, like anything else, can be abused. I'm going to hunt around for polished anodized wheels. The polished CNC wheels we see on Harley's are brite dipped or they wouldn't be shiny for long. So, there have to be places to do my wheels!!

I've been in management for quite a while now in custom heavy vehicle manufacturing and assembly (shoot me please) and not the engineering function any more or I could get it done myself.

Hope that helps.

smile.gif

Edited by Bent
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Hey Phantom,

I'll answer your questions backwards.

I don't know what's on the frame of a 4th Gen. so can't answer that one with facts. Haven't met one live and in person. I've only had a VFR for a few months but have had other go fast bikes long ago so it isn't taking long to get used to riding the VFR.

Anodizing comes in many processes for different results, so won't take a lot of time in going into the details.

Brite Dip is generally for aluminum that is polished smooth and bright first (takes special alloys), then cleaned super clean, dipped in an acid tank and electricity shot through the rack and parts on the anodizing rack. That means, anodizing is an electro-chemical process. Brite Dip creates a clear surface of aluminum oxide (one of the hardest materials on the scale) and protects the aluminum surface partly by closing up the pores on the aluminum surface and partly by sealing the aluminum from outside influences (corrosion).

Anodizing isn't a coating or plating but rather a change in the properties of the surface of the aluminum to a pre-determined depth. Depth determined by time in the tank, or other factors that essentially add up to the same thing. It's a great process but, like anything else, can be abused. I'm going to hunt around for polished anodized wheels. The polished CNC wheels we see on Harley's are brite dipped or they wouldn't be shiny for long. So, there have to be places to do my wheels!!

I've been in management for quite a while now in custom heavy vehicle manufacturing and assembly (shoot me please) and not the engineering function any more or I could get it done myself.

Hope that helps.

smile.gif

I also own a Screaming Eagle Fatboy that has polished aluminum wheels. I would say they are not treated with anything. They need constant care and attention and they will dull up quickly. I spend 4 hours per side once a month per wheel. Thats why they are shiny for so long.........us guys that have a chrome bike are really into polishing chit thats all it is..the honda is great wash it hit it with a leaf blower and ride! :wheel:

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I also own a Screaming Eagle Fatboy that has polished aluminum wheels. I would say they are not treated with anything. They need constant care and attention and they will dull up quickly.

Are they the disc wheels? They are made in Australia.

Get some Nyalic and clear-coat them - no more polishing.

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Are they the disc wheels? They are made in Australia.

Get some Nyalic and clear-coat them - no more polishing.

Thanks for the advice. I am not sure what I will do. A painter I trust told me that clear coats are actually tinted yellow and it will become obvious as the yellow is more pronounced as the paint ages.thus would make shiny metal appear to have a yellow tint.

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Thanks for the advice. I am not sure what I will do. A painter I trust told me that clear coats are actually tinted yellow and it will become obvious as the yellow is more pronounced as the paint ages.thus would make shiny metal appear to have a yellow tint.

Never heard that, not to say that it's not true. But chances are that this is how things 'used' to be, and coating technology has come a long way in recent years.

Nyalic ('Everbrite' in the US) is guaranteed not to go yellow. Also, if it's damaged (scratched), you can remove it with laquer thinners and reapply, or even just paint over the scratch! It's self-levelling, and the new coat chemically blends into the old coat. It really is amazing stuff. Apparently developed for NASA, it's a big hit in the marine industry.

An aerosol can (which is what I use) costs $55AUD!!! It's the big can, but still, I baulked at the price for a while. Then I needed some for another project (Falcon GT steering wheel restoration) so bought it, and as soon as you start spraying you realise that this can sprays like nothing you've ever used before. It's like 50% of the cost went into the aerosol technology, no kidding. The VFR of aerosols : )

The product itself sprays like water mist, very light coats only are needed. Shelf life of Nyalic is indefinite so long as it's properly stored.

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