0R10N Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 apologies if this isn't techy enough for tech, but I'm sure old man southern or some other enterprising mod will move it if req'd. Anyway, most people will be aware that genuine one-piece Wats (of the F8 kind) are very lightweight and I have heard rumours of certain examples cracking/shattering when undergoing a standard sandblasting procedure. There are also similar stories floating around that they are too fragile to withstand being powdercoated and/or somehow weaken during said process. I shortly require a full set of F8s to be cleaned up in order to prep them for painting/powdercoating, so was wondering whether there is any substance to the above rumours, and if so, what other options are open to me e.g. walnut shell blasting, endless hours of sanding, etc etc? The aim is to take each wheel back to a finish that still retains the factory 'crinkle' look on the spokes, over which a colour such as bronze will then be applied. if I can't powdercoat them, I'll simply ask my painter to spray them instead. But would be nice to have some peace of mind, prior to ruining a perfectly good set of nice rims. ::edit:: also the last time I took a set of wheels to be blasted, Procoat tucked me bigtime and charged $80/rim. I've since learned that most places will do it for around $20/rim so if anyone has suggestions of where to take them within the Auckland area I would appreciate those also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 sandblasting wheels make the wheels look like a 600 grit sandpaper.. ie YUCK also it can bring up any near surface porosity (sp??) I would dip strip and paint with a 2K.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Sand blasting does dull down any curbing or imperfections in the rims, but also dulls down cast in marks etc. I would steer clear if you like the wheels, just do it because its cheap/you don't mind if the wheels loose a mm or so. I'm looking at getting some centres acid dipped at the moment, have a couple of places lined up. I would expect to pay $100 to dip a set of wheels in Hamilton, probably more in the big city. Also adds more if you do centre caps, or if they were 3 piece and split. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblegoose Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 tergostrip and a big waterblaster id always choose 2k spray paint over powder coating, its just has more paint waste and requires skill to get a good finish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 Yeeeeeeah. It's a tricky one. When I had my 14x6 I asked a guru about cleaning them up and he said to be very careful about what you use because the surface is easily marred and I guess the composite of alloy that makes them so light has many weaknesses with cleaning products too. Maybe have them dipped in a soda crystals solution, allowed to dry and painted after. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tortron Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 You cure powdercoat at about 200C. Not super high, so as long as they weren't cooled abruptly i would imagine it would be no worse than jumping on the brakes a couple of times Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0R10N Posted October 14, 2010 Author Share Posted October 14, 2010 churs for replies. Good to get a bit moar perspective on the whole process. TBH I'm leaning more towards having them painted, as the painter I take my stz to always does a mint job. Another thing which could compound the exercise slightly is that two of the rims look like they've been very shabbily painted at some point. However if strip 'n dip will suffice to remove the old paint, then sweet deal KKhris - the factory surface finish of the spokes does aktually resemble 600 grit sandpaper! amping to get these bastards fitted to koop, would mean only a couple things left to do before I have it all sorted for summer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanners Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 I had my 3 piece wat's centres acid dipped, sand blasted and powder coated in gloss black, then clear coated. The finish is ok but like mentioned above a bit more dull than you could achieve using conventional painting methods. I think one day I will give them a scuff up and get them sprayed with real paint in a cool colour. The black doesnt have the effect I wanted. Only cost $30 per rim which I thought was fine and dandy. note the rims are actually SSR RS8s but wantanabe sounds/is cooler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikuni Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 They dipped them and sandblasted them? And the clear coated the powder coat? Sounds like a lot of double handling. Did they mask the areas that bolt to the wheel hub and where the outer and inner shells bolt to? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bubblegoose Posted October 14, 2010 Share Posted October 14, 2010 They dipped them and sandblasted them? And the clear coated the powder coat? Sounds like a lot of double handling.Did they mask the areas that bolt to the wheel hub and where the outer and inner shells bolt to? sometimes powder coaters clear coat their stz when the coating is too thin and the sand blasted texture shows though, its cheaper than re-blasting and coating Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Testament Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 acid (or other suitable nasty shite) dip or DIY with paint stripper/wasterblaster as suggested then get them painted in 2K. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyteler Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 The three piece SSR RS-8 Watanabe wheels are dramatically different in finish to the single piece rims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 Get them acid dipped. It will completly remove all the paint. It wont remove any oxidisation but you may not have any. If you did - Bead blast them (the most pussy form of media blasting). Heavy media blasting on alloy rims will harden the outside layer and thats when things crack. Pime them with regular primer and then just mask and paint in what ever colour you want. Here the centers were oxidised and spray bombed in pink and red. Dipped and blasted then painted with cans and polishing at the end. Excuse the gay sidepipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vintage Grumble Posted October 15, 2010 Share Posted October 15, 2010 ^ Sex. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldrx Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 Just been glass bead blasting mine before getting them painted seem to come up fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ke36 Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 They dipped them and sandblasted them? And the clear coated the powder coat? Sounds like a lot of double handling.Did they mask the areas that bolt to the wheel hub and where the outer and inner shells bolt to? sometimes powder coaters clear coat their stz when the coating is too thin and the sand blasted texture shows though, its cheaper than re-blasting and coating also some of the powder coat isnt designed for the harshness of being on a wheel etc so clear coat protects it better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spanners Posted October 17, 2010 Share Posted October 17, 2010 ^^ They cleared them cos he was doing something else in clear and was all like fuck it, give the wheels a going over too. Cant hurt to have extra protection on a wheel, it seems a lot of grime and shit. Kinda like using 2 rubbers on a whore. My wheels had massive oxidation, needed the full shebang when it came to cleaning them I guess. What do I know, I just trust the jolly powdercoat man. I get sad when everyone elses rims are so much sexier than mine. I want to get more more more. Might rob the SSR factory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0R10N Posted October 20, 2010 Author Share Posted October 20, 2010 Cool cool. I'll skip clearcoating, as Wats look nicer in matt finish (brings out the texture of the spokes better as well, I reckon). Jury is still out on whether i have the whole rim done in bronze, or go for a polished lip. anyway, after getting tucked $80 per rim by Procoat to have my O.Z rims blasted, I sure as hell ain't going back there. any recommendations for other places in the Auckalnd area? otherwise i'll have a flip thru the yellow pages or whatever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KKtrips Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Polished lip for sure.. No recommendations on blaster though sorry - (you do mean a glass blaster not a sand blaster?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xsspeed Posted October 21, 2010 Share Posted October 21, 2010 Ed, //oldschool.co.nz/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=20345 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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