Another part of the mtorcycling experience. It's pleasing to see that you
stuck with it & it worked out. Don't give'em a dime. Be good. Peter Piazza
----- Original Message -----
From: "Spee-dee-D" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, August 17, 2001 9:12 AM
Subject: Re: GTS Wheel Recoating
> 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?>
>
>
