I had quite an experience getting my wheels done so be CAUTIOUS or you may
go postal on someone - I know I almost did. I powder coated them this
spring and so far they are holding up very well. I especially like the way
they clean up. I used to hate trying to get the factory rims to shine after
I washed them, I found the sharp edges and the 2 different finishes
(machined and textured) to be a pain. Before I took them in to get done I
used a Dremel and some sandpaper to soften up the sharp edges and get rid of
any casting marks. I also spent quite a bit of time talking to people about
it because I wanted a good job. A friend of mine had his rims done shortly
before I decided to and he said I should make sure that they didn't get any
powder coating on the machined surfaces that I needed to be clear of paint
because it was difficult to get it off after.
I heeded his warning and decided to get them powder coated vs. painted
because of the durability and the price. I thought I had found a qualified
little shop who would pay attention to the details so I took them my wheels
(free of all bearings, seals, oil and grease), along with my muffler and the
grab rails beside the seat. They told me that they would acid dip the
wheels and rails to remove any finish (I can't remember how they prepared
the muffler). I expected that they knew what they were doing and never
questioned their methods of preparing the surface. We ordered in a special
silver color that just about perfectly matched the frame, but it looked way
better with clear on top so I asked them to clear all the parts too.
I went away on a business trip, and the parts were supposed to be ready when
I got back. I was really excited to see them so I rushed over and found
that they had done a pretty good job on the muffler and the wheels, but the
rails looked like they had been sprayed with that textured powder coat.
They said when they dipped them, the surface beneath the paint was all
porous and rough which they proceeded to coat anyway. This of coarse looked
quite bad so they dipped them to remove the powder coat and then sprayed
them again, and that's what I saw. They said the metal was too rough to get
a good finish, but I couldn't understand how Yamaha got such a nice paint
finish on them before. They said there was nothing they could do so I told
them to strip them again and I would have to get them painted. When I went
back to p/u the rails I couldn't believe how rough they were, but these
"experts" had no idea how they got that way, so I gave them my Visa # and
left.
Here's the kicker - within 2 days of that both wheels and the muffler had
developed hairline cracks in the finish, so I went to a large coatings
company and talked to the owner who told me something very interesting. He
said that he had seen the cracks before when things were not left in the
oven long enough, and get this - he had also seen metal like my rails before
(which was most likely an alloy of several metals) which had been corroded
by leaving in the acid too long. I proceeded to take my parts back to the
original shop where they promptly told me that they had baked my parts extra
long and knew exactly what they were doing (and basically I knew nothing),
and that their acid had never damaged any other parts before, but if it did
damage my rails it was my responsibility to tell them what metals it was
made of. OOOOOOH!!! Boy was I mad now!
I promptly went back to the large company and asked him what he could do -
he said that if I didn't do anything with the cracks, the coating would
eventually flake off, but he could try to re-bake the it and get it to
re-flow, and then allow it to cool at the proper rate, but he warned me that
there may be small lines where the cracks were. For $35 I told him to go
for it. They turned out wonderfully - I can't even tell there was ever
anything wrong with them. As for the rails, I had to spend a couple of days
puttying and sanding them to get them back to their original shape before I
had them painted to match the bike. Get this - they had corroded away so
much metal that when I went to bolt them back on the bike, the bolts dropped
clear through the threaded holes in which they belonged.
In the end I thought I had gotten some satisfaction for all the time and
stress those $#$#@'s had caused me, because they never put through the
original charge on my Visa. But then last week I see the charge - 3 1/2
months later and they are trying to sneak it through. I immediately called
Visa and disputed the charge, and I'll be fighting tooth and nail to make
sure they never do. I have plenty of pics of their workmanship. hmmmph!
There....I feel better now getting all that out. Sorry for spewing on you,
just don't want anyone else to go through all that crap if they don't have
to. Oh, I forgot to tell you that they also got coating on some machined
areas anyway which I had to scrape at for several hours.
Good luck!
GWN
Daren
<Peter Maggiacomo
Sent: August 16, 2001 8:15 PM
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: GTS Wheel Recoating
I had been thinking about giving some attention to
my GTS wheels but am undecided which route to go...
chrome plating, powder coating or strip- buff&clear-
coat. Anyone out there have any thoughts?>
