Long-term Polished Aluminum?

[jetmerritt]

Ok, so I parked the bike for winter and I want to dress it up a bit. I want to do a bunch of aluminum polishing. I was going to start with some small parts to get the hang of it, then I was hoping to do the wheels. I have been searching old threads, but thought I might get some more direct results with a new thread.

If I polish the wheels, I was hoping to do the whole wheel, not just the lips. Will they hold up? Is it really a pain to take care of them? What products do you use to keep them up? I don't want to have to polish the bike every ride, but I don't mind keeping it up once every few rides. I do keep it clean.

Also when polishing, when I am finished, should I clear-coat? Has anyone had experience with clear-coating aluminum? What's a good product? If I am going to do it I would prefer to use rattle-cans. Or just get the bodyshop to do it?

I don't want to mess up my bike long term, I want to make it better! I don't want it to look like in a year. Any input is appreciated. I guess if the wheels get trashed, I can always look at powder coating later right?

I am planning on polishing, wheels, forks and levers for now.

Oh, I keep it dry in winter, so realistically I am just looking into keeping the finish looking good while riding.

[Kreylyn]

There are many options... for the wheels, the best results/longest lasting option would be...

Polish, then use a clear powder coating on them.

Some kind of clear will make them much easier to care for.

Uncoated polished aluminum will require re-polishing every 1-2 weeks if in the weather to keep looking well... at the least every 1 month or so to keep from it being alot of work to repolish, and prevent possible pitting.

*depending upon weather, storage, cleaning, and amount of times you ride daily/weekly, etc... the time lines may be different... *

Krey

[chris216]

true definitly clear coat anything you polish and like was said the clear powdercoat would be the most durable for the job.

[scottynoface]

CLEAR CLEAR CLEAR! This is what happens if you don't clear and don't spend time cleaning them, this picture was taken about 6 months after I polished the wheels.



After 8 hours of trying to sand out the pits, I got one 10" section done...



Polishing them and not clearcoating was my biggest regret, I didn't think it was going to be anywhere near as maintenance intensive, and now my wheels look like the surface of the moon and I have to spend either a lot of time or some $$ to get them blasted and P/C.

[jetmerritt]

Thank you scottynoface! Definitely scratched the idea of polishing with no clear. I want to look into clear powdercoating though. I still like the idea of the polished look, I just want it to keep!
Thank you again.

[BigFish]

I've never heard of clear powder coating...which doesn't surprise me since I know next to nothing about powder coating.

What are the details on this. How much does it generally cost, etc?

[JokerZwild]

yiiiikes RIM HERPIE!!!

[Kreylyn]

I've never heard of clear powder coating...which doesn't surprise me since I know next to nothing about powder coating.

What are the details on this. How much does it generally cost, etc?

Prices would depend upon your choice of PC shop, but generally... about the same as a single color PC job I would think... so, around $25 - $75 ... again, depending upon the shop you choose.

Krey

[scottynoface]

I still like the idea of the polished look, I just want it to keep!
Thank you again.

No problem, just figured I'd throw my hat in

And yeah, polished rims look FANTASTIC when they're perfect, so coat over that and you've got some shiny-azz shoes.

[WallacE]

I got a quote to powder coat my wheels from a local shop, the price was $40 to powder, and $20 to strip and prepair. I think this is pretty reasonable considering the end result. Once I get the cahones to take the wheels off I am definately going that route.

[jetmerritt]

Ok, I looked into the clear powder-coating and there is a small shop in the next city that does it.

I think around $60 a wheel maybe, but I didn't get a quote, just talked to the office lady and she was saying 24" truck rims go for around $100 bucks each.

I just hate the fact my Kat has boring black rims. With a name like Katana, you would think the bike would be more exciting, like rolling on shiny wheels, slicing through the asphalt at high speed!

Considering the powder coat tech was not there, does anyone know if I will have to remove / replace all the wheel bearings and everything? I was hoping to get around that but I know they bake the coating. If I remove all the bearings, will I have to replace them or has anyone had any luck re & re'ing them without destroying them?

Let me know,

Thanks,

Jason

[ep87]

Ok, I looked into the clear powder-coating and there is a small shop in the next city that does it.

I think around $60 a wheel maybe, but I didn't get a quote, just talked to the office lady and she was saying 24" truck rims go for around $100 bucks each.

I just hate the fact my Kat has boring black rims. With a name like Katana, you would think the bike would be more exciting, like rolling on shiny wheels, slicing through the asphalt at high speed!

Considering the powder coat tech was not there, does anyone know if I will have to remove / replace all the wheel bearings and everything? I was hoping to get around that but I know they bake the coating. If I remove all the bearings, will I have to replace them or has anyone had any luck re & re'ing them without destroying them?

Let me know,

Thanks,

Jason

Yes the bearing, seals etc. need to come prior to powder coating. As far as the bearings go, I'm getting ready to get my wheels coated and even though I can get the bearings out with out damaging them, I think its cheep insurance, since there out install new ones, and there not really that
expensive.
Richard

[jetmerritt]

Yeah, I know when it's two wheels, never take chances, guess I'll have to source that stuff out and get a price...

Just adds to the cost of polishing and the bike only has 8000kms, so it kinda bums me out to have to change them.

Thanks though Richard, good advice.

Jason

[RebornKat02]

If you polish it really well the first time and use Master Formula metal gloss and sealer it will look like the day you got it done. I only touch mine up every month or so. My broher in law does polishing professionally so we got it to an immaculate shine. The hardest part was sanding down the rough cast. We used a 320 grit DA and then up to a 400. Hand sand out the DA marks using a cross pattern and then get out the air buffers. We used the orange polish compound and a blue to color. Not sure of the brands. I don't recomend you polish the bar ends or the sprocket unless it's clear coated after. They don't hold a polish for anything. At least the stock ones don't. If you want it done really well, hit me up @ [email protected] and I'll get you a really good price my brother in law will beat any price around and it looks killer when he's done. We've done complete bikes and a ton of rims and tiny bits. The master gloss and sealer is really where it's @ tho for longevity IF you don't clear coat it. It's not too expensive and lasts a long time.

[loudnlow7484]

Personal experience-

I polished the upper triple about 3 years ago, and never put any wax, sealer, or clear on it, and I stored the bike outside the whole time. It took about 2 years to pit, and now at 3 years I'd really have to sand at it to get it smooth again. Even now it doesn't look anywhere near as bad as scotty's wheel, but that could be due to different alloys.

I personally don't like clear over polished aluminum...... probably just scarred by too many polished car wheels that corrode under the clear and end up looking terrible. Thankfully most people don't ride their bikes in the winter, so it's probably less of an issue, but I'm not big on it. The clear powdercoat sounds like the way to go, as long as it's really clear.