Paint removal from wheel

[gunn parker]

I have tried a search but could not find anything.
Does anyone know how I can remove the blue from my wheel?
Looks like someone in the past removed a lot of it and polished the outer part of the rim but I want to get rid of the rest of it, then polish the whole rim.

Cheers.

[BlackFZR]

Soda blasting, sand paper..... if you use too abrasive a removal process, it will make the polishing even harder.....

[SilentBob]

I guess it depends on how the rim is coloured, if it was painted or powder-coated.
You probably also need to fix your thread title. I thought you had a pain of a job removing the wheel.

[robwilliams]

In the past I have painstakingly used the paint stripper and scraper method, followed up by a light sand. I was prepping for powdercoating. If you can afford it, get them stripped by blasting (soft media).

[Hewie]

Soda blasting.

[clintooo]

I blasted mine with a suction fed blaster we had. About to powdercoat them myself...

One tip though, if you do it yourself, buy one of those sandblaster hoods, I had garnet coming out of my ears, and every other orrifice for days. Bloody messy

Came up ok, took me about an hour a wheel, as it was a small blaster and the compressor was struggling (it was a 3phase one too), but it did put a light imprint on the wheels. I think soda blasting is the best bet if you are going to polish them, as that shouldnt mar the rims as I think it is a lot gentler than garnet. There is a place called Temco distributors in Welshpool. They sell balsting stuff, and I bought the garnet from them. They had alot of different grades for different finishes and were very helpful.

[clintooo]

despite the hassles and mess, I will be blasting things in the future, rather than using paint stripper. it did seem a bit easier to me than paintstripper, particularly on fiddly stuff.

[Hewie]

I did my engine with soda the other day. Came out perfectly.

Spend half an hour or so just playing with the air/media mix .. I found that I could take texta off the engine covers without removing paint if I chose too.

+1 for Temco .. they are awesome

25kg bag of soda costs $88 from Temco

You will also need a bottle of white vinegar for when you are finished. The soda makes the metal surface alkaline so once its all blasted, blow off the excess dust with the air gun then spray the rims with a weak vinegar/water solution and then rinse it off.

If you get a couple of those pool water testing strips you can test the surface for the alkalinity. Just keep repeating the process until the surface is pretty much nil.

[Hewie]

Hewies OTHER OTHER R1 Build - Project Phoenix

[Hewie]

PS - Just be aware that you will most likely have to replace the bearings. The soda gets everywhere and will most likely get into the bearings no matter how much you cover them.

[gunn parker]

Thanks everyone, sounds like it doing to be pricy? I'd have to buy all the gear and then the soda or can you hire the gear?

[Hewie]

You should be able to hire the gear ... if not I dont mind helping (or doing it for you) but not until after the bike show.

You just have to cover the cost of the soda/garnet and coke zero

[gunn parker]

You should be able to hire the gear ... if not I dont mind helping (or doing it for you) but not until after the bike show.

You just have to cover the cost of the soda/garnet and coke zero

That's very kind, thanks. I'll have to see what I want to do about it.
Cheers

[clintooo]

or you could try a sandblasting place and see what they charge, might be less than the hire gear.

Pull your bearings out and buy new ones from a bearing supplier not the manufacturer, they will be cheaper too.

[michael]

Usually if you sandblast them you won't be able to polish the profile of the blast out unless you are using a soft media ie plastic, walnut shells, bicarb.
and definitely replace the bearings after blasting.

Michael.

[gunn parker]

So just how hard is it to remove and replace the bearings?
Do they have to be pressed out?
I can check my manual later but someone here will know for sure.

[Hewie]

Soda shouldnt be a problem to polish

[clintooo]

I pulled mine out. If you read the manual they just fall out we had an internal bearing puller at work that I used for it. But a punch and decent hammer will get them out. you are going to replace them anyway. But you often need a reasonable sized hammer and a few decent hits to break the initial seal/bond. after that they come out reasonably easy. just move the punch around so you drive it out from all sides and it comes out level. Dont just hit it in one spot.

you can then use an appropriately sized socket to drive the new ones in with (i.e. tap the socket with a hammer). A press would make life easier, but isnt really necessary, in the ones I have done in the past anyway.

[Hewie]

Ummmm Ive never had a set of wheel bearings come out that easily. The last lot we did (last week) took about an hour and a fair amount of persuasion from a hammer, drift and torch.

[XIII]

this may help you mate
Ep 16: DIY soda blasting – build your own rig! at Garage Night

There is even an episode on wheel bearings