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Painted my wheels GOLD

16K views 33 replies 10 participants last post by  Ikestrong 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi everyone, long time - no post!
I had commented in another post about painting wheels here: http://www.triumph675.net/forum/showthread.php?t=182386
I've finally finished the work and here's the results.

Wheels before painting. They were powdercoated to match the bike.


Wheels after painting with VHT Metallic Engine Enamel (no clear coat).


Wheels after Duplicolor Wheel Gloss clear coat. I think it's too glossy, and I would have preferred a no-gloss clear coat. Color does match the SuperSprox anodized aluminum very well.


Next two photos are the wheels on the bike. Overall I am happy with the results. See the photo in my signature for a before and after comparison.


 
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#7 ·
Thanks! You're probably right, but I really hope you're not. We'll see how well the Duplicolor Wheel Paint clear coat holds up. It's supposed to keep chips and such at bay. I'll be sure to report back if it doesn't perform as expected.
 
#8 ·
Dave? DAVE? Is that really you? :surprise: Damn, bro - it's been a very long time. Do we have some catching up to do or what?

Your bike looks much better (IMHO) with the new wheel color. I would have gone with a clear coat, as well, to aid cleaning. In addition, sometimes silver and gold metallics don't have good durability on their own without clear.

As a fellow OG; I, too, have been delinquent about posting but I still try to tap into the forum once a week. We were pretty active in the forum back then, eh? I have some shots of my "re-fresh" from two winters ago that I would like to post...just need to take the time.

Shoot me a PM or e-mail when you can. Your bike looks great :icon_exclaim:

Cheers, mate.
 
#9 ·
The infamous superlight! It is I, and it has been a super long time. I've just started checking the forums again after almost a year away. I'm still putting the miles on, but not nearly as many as I would like. 34,500 and counting. Amazing how our bikes are 9 years old now, and speaking for myself, I still don't have "new bike envy".
Thanks for the compliments. I like it more and more every time I look at it. And so far the paint is holding up well.
I look forward to seeing your post! I'm sure that whatever you have done is nothing short of spectacular, as always.
Cheers,
Dave
 
#10 ·
Good to hear from you. 9 years old indeed...doesn't seem like it. And I, too, don't have a strong desire to replace mine with anything new - especially after everything I've fabricated for it and done to it. Nearly 35K? Congrats.

Keep those gold wheels clean and check your pm's, amigo.
 
#12 ·
Hey Nigel! Good to see another OG floatin' around. :grin2:

Dave did a good job on the wheels. I'm looking forward to seeing them in person.

I believe they were done with spray cans. As your link suggests, I don't think VHT paint is available in the quart or pint for use with a gun.
 
#14 ·
Long time no talk to Pete! how ya been?!

I still lurk on here but not nearly as much as what I used too.... last time I was on the 675 was a year ago... it's just sitting up on stands in the garage. I'm probably going to end up selling my track bike :-( No point in keeping it if I don't use it

This mod however looks good and I'd actually love to paint my stock color wheels, would be a nice project!

I look forward to seeing what Dave posts and gives an update once he gets back! Agreed though on every aspect, I look at the new Daytona's and they just don't do it for me like our style does. I still smile looking at my 08'... I think she has less than 2k miles on her so that shows you how much I've ridden :-( Almost feel like I should have gotten the street triple but oh well.

-Nigel
 
#15 ·
I'm back from my trip*

*Bike didn't make it. Kinda. Sorta. During my 5 day vacation, I traveled from the Detroit area up to Mackinaw City, Tehquamenon Falls, Traverse City and surrounding areas and back home. But about 20 miles from home, something in the engine let loose, covering the back of the bike with oil, tire included. Luckily I didn't go down. I called USAA Roadside assistance and to make that long part of the story short, the tow truck driver dripped my bike on the flatbed, damaging the right side.
Once I get the repair process in motion and get the 909 miles worth of wildlife and road grime off the bike (as well as ratchet strap on the rear wheel during towing), I'll post a proper update to the durability of the painted wheels.

To answer a few questions in the mean time, I used 1 can of VHT Metallic Gold which covered both wheels fairly well. http://www.amazon.com/VHT-SP404-Eng...=1436545531&sr=1-1&keywords=vht+metallic+gold

I left the tires on the wheels and taped them off with blue painters tape. Any overspray came off easily with a wire brush.

Dave
 
#17 ·
Here's the photos of the wheels. They look the same now as they did 1500 miles ago after going through rain, dirt roads, 4 chain cleanings, and having a towing ratchet strap across the back wheel. Durability so far has been 10/10!
 

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#18 ·
More photos to prove your gold paint not only looks great but seems to have the durability to match. But the engine failure??? :stretcher: :surprise: :tissue:

And the lame talents of the tow truck driver? Damn, Dave. That's a tough one to swallow. Then again, some of these guys have no concept how to properly load and secure a bike. :pout: And they REALLY don't care that it's our pride and joy. :verysad:

Have you taken it to Triumph Detroit for repair?
 
#19 ·
Yeah, engine failure...
Nut and washer for the front sprocket came off. Wore a bit of material off the block, which resulted in a pin-sized hole. Sprocket slid off the splines and onto the threaded part of the trans output shaft, resulting in no forward motion. I think a serving of Loc-tite Weld epoxy should do the trick.
 

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#20 ·
OUCH ! :hurt1: You're fortunate the countershaft sprocket did not jam into the cases and somehow lock the chain and spit you off the bike. Or cause more severe damage to the case.

A poor photo off the internet: But, was a portion of the washer beneath the nut bent over one of the flats on the nut - theoretically preventing the nut from backing out?



I think the manual calls for 85 Nm (about 63 lb-ft) torque and threadlock as well. It also recommends a new locking washer for each installation. I think you could use the same one and pick a different portion of the washer to bend over the nut flange.

Have you ridden the bike since the repair? Is your epoxy/JB Weld holding up?
 
#21 ·
Yes, I am very fortunate!
Problem is this: about 25k miles ago I went with a -1/+2 520 chain setup. The new front sprocket is too thick to allow the washer to hold well onto the splines. All else was done as you had posted, with loc-tite, proper torque, and washer bent 180° out from original bend.
 
#22 ·
Also, I have not tried to ride yet. Waiting for the epoxy to set properly (20 hours of curing left) and I need to buy more oil. Though I just did an oil change at the beginning of the season, I've lost so much that I should drain what's left and put all fresh, clean oil in.
 
#23 ·
Any tips on the painting of the wheels? What prep work did you do?

I noticed that on the manufacture's website they recommend curing the parts using their VHT paint at 200 degrees... did you do that with the wheels or no? I can't get an oven big enough... wondering if fabbing a cardboard box up with a heatgun to regulate the 200 degrees or so, but that might be overkill?

Any reason you didn't go with same manufacture's clear coat? I noticed when using VHT's clear coat it really dulls and almost changes the color of the paint. Any reactions negatively with using the other clearcoat?

Did you wetsand between coats?

-Nigel
 
#24 ·
I did use my heat gun to "cure" the paint. I use quotes because I'm not sure how effective it was, but it seems to have worked. I used it on High and kept it moving as to not burn the paint, using my hand as temperature control. If I could touch the paint, it wasn't warm enough. If I couldn't, it was just right. The key was to keep it moving to not overheat it. Also, I used the heat gun in the opening in the spokes to heat them from the inside out.
I did not wet sand between coats. And I couldn't find VHT clear coat locally. I settled on the Dupli-color clear for wheels because it was available and supposed to be strong, which so far it has definitely been strong. I didn't really want gloss, but their other option was matte which would dull the color and that would look terrible with this paint. All that said, wet sanding for a more glossy effect wasn't important to me. That, and the paint lays pretty evenly with light coats. Heavier coats will have runs though. And the clear coat will even itself if it runs, so no worries there.
I hope this answers your questions.
 
#25 ·
I forgot about prep work. Other than taping off all the parts you don't want painted, such as valve stems (optional), wheel studs and sprocket mating surfaces, brake mounting surfaces, bearings and tires, just make sure your wheels are as clean as possible. I used scrubbing hand wipes (such as Grime Boss, or Scrubs-in-a-Bucket) to initially clean what little brake dust and chain lube was on the wheels. I then used 3M Bug and Tar remover for a deeper clean and finally isopropyl alcohol. I didn't sand my powder coat because it wasn't really smooth, it was very clean, and I hoped a high temp enamel would hold and so far it has.
 
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