Wheely pleased with my wheel refurb....
Discussion
I bought a tatty set of OZ 5-spokes on eBay in January last year, from a nice guy in Minehead. They were straight & true with no kerbing, but due to the seaside air, there was a lot of corrosion under the laquer coating: 
After discounting getting them diamond cut ( beyond my budget ) I set about the worst one with stripper & various grades of abrasives & polishing wheels in my drill, I realised that to do all four would take .... well, forever!
And then it'd be only a matter of time before I'd have to repeat the exercise all over again.
About this time, there was discussion on this forum about new powdercoating finishes available, so after much procrastination ( I'm VERY good at that! ), I decided to sound out various powdercoating places. One place could do the set of four wheels in plain silver for just £100. Bargain! To try them out, I gave them two pairs of rocker covers, two rear drums & backplates, a swirlpot & a couple more bits.
For £40, it was a good cheap job, but not really good enough for my wheels, too many inclusions & imperfections.
I eventually, after a lot of hard bargaining, entrusted them to The Wheel Specialist in Manchester. Black with Flash Chrome powdercoat.
They were dipped, stripped, blasted, oven dried to remove any moisture, then beautifully powdercoated & baked again.
Turnround time was less than 24 hours, & I was amazed at the quality. Superb.
To be continued.....
After discounting getting them diamond cut ( beyond my budget ) I set about the worst one with stripper & various grades of abrasives & polishing wheels in my drill, I realised that to do all four would take .... well, forever!
And then it'd be only a matter of time before I'd have to repeat the exercise all over again.
About this time, there was discussion on this forum about new powdercoating finishes available, so after much procrastination ( I'm VERY good at that! ), I decided to sound out various powdercoating places. One place could do the set of four wheels in plain silver for just £100. Bargain! To try them out, I gave them two pairs of rocker covers, two rear drums & backplates, a swirlpot & a couple more bits.
For £40, it was a good cheap job, but not really good enough for my wheels, too many inclusions & imperfections.
I eventually, after a lot of hard bargaining, entrusted them to The Wheel Specialist in Manchester. Black with Flash Chrome powdercoat.
They were dipped, stripped, blasted, oven dried to remove any moisture, then beautifully powdercoated & baked again.
Turnround time was less than 24 hours, & I was amazed at the quality. Superb.
To be continued.....
Now where was I ? ........ oh yes, a quality job, I am thrilled with the result: 
The next thing required for authenticity, to match the original S1 wheels, is the black centre disc & spoke edges. I thought I would leave the spokes as they are because the subtle shading of the Flash Chrome finish looks very good as it is.
So, I could either hand paint the centre disc, or mask & spray paint
But I thought it might not turn out as well as I'd like.
So I thought why not make it as complicated as possible, but removeable and/or replaceable?
Fablon sticky- backed plastic ! A chance to finally win that long-coveted Blue Peter badge.
Unfortunately, Fablon no longer exist, but a German product, Deco d-c-fix is available from most big DIY stores, in a bewildering variety of shades, colours & patterns, from Bright Pink to Laura Ashley inspired floral designs.
I toyed with Tartan or chequered, but in the end I bravely chose gloss black.
Back home, I played with paper & cardboard & scissors & compasses & rulers until I came up with a passable pattern for a stick-on centre disc.
It was a b
r to get in place, and disappointingly low on adhesive qualities ( except it loved sticking to my fingers & thumbs ! )
I tried the old trick of moistening the surface to accept the decal with warm water with one drop of Fairy Liquid in it. This allowed the disc to slip into place nicely, but after squeegee-ing all the water out , it took 24 hours to properly stick down.
And it looked a bit raggedy around the stud holes.
Nothing for it but to make up a proper metal template for accuracy with the scalpel work:
Now into mass production on a huge scale ( I made four
),
I now have the facility to knock out as many as I want, in any hue or pattern.
Final problem: to get a nice finish around the stud holes, the sticky disc needed to seat properly on the radiused edges, but resolutely refused to do so.
Until I had another brainwave
It needed pressure & heat . So what's the best way? ......
Eggsactly! They worked a treat while I was cutting up my dippy soldiers
To be continued.....
The next thing required for authenticity, to match the original S1 wheels, is the black centre disc & spoke edges. I thought I would leave the spokes as they are because the subtle shading of the Flash Chrome finish looks very good as it is.
So, I could either hand paint the centre disc, or mask & spray paint
But I thought it might not turn out as well as I'd like.
So I thought why not make it as complicated as possible, but removeable and/or replaceable?
Fablon sticky- backed plastic ! A chance to finally win that long-coveted Blue Peter badge.
Unfortunately, Fablon no longer exist, but a German product, Deco d-c-fix is available from most big DIY stores, in a bewildering variety of shades, colours & patterns, from Bright Pink to Laura Ashley inspired floral designs.
I toyed with Tartan or chequered, but in the end I bravely chose gloss black.
Back home, I played with paper & cardboard & scissors & compasses & rulers until I came up with a passable pattern for a stick-on centre disc.
It was a b
r to get in place, and disappointingly low on adhesive qualities ( except it loved sticking to my fingers & thumbs ! )I tried the old trick of moistening the surface to accept the decal with warm water with one drop of Fairy Liquid in it. This allowed the disc to slip into place nicely, but after squeegee-ing all the water out , it took 24 hours to properly stick down.
And it looked a bit raggedy around the stud holes.
Nothing for it but to make up a proper metal template for accuracy with the scalpel work:
Now into mass production on a huge scale ( I made four
),I now have the facility to knock out as many as I want, in any hue or pattern.
Final problem: to get a nice finish around the stud holes, the sticky disc needed to seat properly on the radiused edges, but resolutely refused to do so.
Until I had another brainwave
It needed pressure & heat . So what's the best way? ......
Eggsactly! They worked a treat while I was cutting up my dippy soldiers
To be continued.....
Edited by glenrobbo on Wednesday 19th March 22:53
So, following the unfortunate but necessary sacrifice of 16 unborn baby chicks,
I am now the proud owner of a set of four of the most elaborate & eggspensive 4-egg eggcups the world has ever seen.
How could I possibly improve on these things of wonder?
I know ...........TYRES!
Careful management of my meagre pension & 3 months total abstinence later on, I found myself in a position ( ooh-err missus! ) to be able to pay to have my two best tyres swapped from my original wheels, & pay the first instalment on a nice new pair of Dunlop's much-vaunted ( well Phillpot went to Scotland & back on his so they must be good ! ) BluResponse boots.
Except they turn out to be a somewhat disappointing black. Everyone knows that Blue is the best colour.
And finally, all I need now is a nice shiny set of nuts ....
Put the Brasso down Simon! I've got them & just tried them out: 
Edit: I'm a bit concerned to see a shadowy spectre trying to get his terrible talons on my nice new BluResponseseses. Oi ! , get yer claws off !
At least he's not after me nuts.
If you look carefully, you can just glimpse the ( cheaply ) powdercoated brake drum. Dunno how long that'll last on the Eurotour though.
You may or may not have seen this one earlier ....
So that's the wheels done. :
All that remains to do now us everything else.
I think I'll go for a lie down now........
Thanks for all the kind comments guys.
I am now the proud owner of a set of four of the most elaborate & eggspensive 4-egg eggcups the world has ever seen.
How could I possibly improve on these things of wonder?I know ...........TYRES!
Careful management of my meagre pension & 3 months total abstinence later on, I found myself in a position ( ooh-err missus! ) to be able to pay to have my two best tyres swapped from my original wheels, & pay the first instalment on a nice new pair of Dunlop's much-vaunted ( well Phillpot went to Scotland & back on his so they must be good ! ) BluResponse boots.
Except they turn out to be a somewhat disappointing black. Everyone knows that Blue is the best colour.
And finally, all I need now is a nice shiny set of nuts ....
Put the Brasso down Simon! I've got them & just tried them out: Edit: I'm a bit concerned to see a shadowy spectre trying to get his terrible talons on my nice new BluResponseseses. Oi ! , get yer claws off !
At least he's not after me nuts.
If you look carefully, you can just glimpse the ( cheaply ) powdercoated brake drum. Dunno how long that'll last on the Eurotour though.
You may or may not have seen this one earlier ....
So that's the wheels done. :
All that remains to do now us everything else.
I think I'll go for a lie down now........
Thanks for all the kind comments guys.
Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 20th March 00:20
Quinny said:
This is a yoke, you chickened out of doing the job yourself, and then over egged it completely....
Eggshellent result though
It's no yoke, all white?Eggshellent result though
I shell report you to the moderators for casting aspersions on my eggshausting work.
You don't wanna mess with someone as hard-boiled as me.
Edit: Quinny, I just had a look at your profile.
Who is that motorcyclist having a lie-down on the kerbing?
It's a dangerous place for a kip.....
Cool pic though.
Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 20th March 09:26
Great result Glenn
I really liked the "shadow chrome" powder coat (slightly darker than yours I think) on the wheels on my old S - looked great and very easy to keep it that way.
I really liked the "shadow chrome" powder coat (slightly darker than yours I think) on the wheels on my old S - looked great and very easy to keep it that way.
glenrobbo said:
I thought I would leave the spokes as they are because the subtle shading of the Flash Chrome finish looks very good as it is.
I took the same approach with mine SJS357 said:
Fan-blinking-tastic Glen, nice work. They do look amazing.
Didn't really get a close-close up look at Shelsley but yep A1
Si.
Thanks Si, Didn't really get a close-close up look at Shelsley but yep A1
Si.
You probably didn't notice at Shelsley because I still had my old nuts then
The shiny set came on the following day
Just over £25 off ebay for a set of 16 zinc plated, plus 4 locking nuts & adaptor key.
But I found they were a smidge shallower than the original old rusty nuts & were bottoming on the stud ( is it ok to say that? ) before the wheels were fully tight.
Just on the rears. ( There I go again! )
When driven, it sounded like a propshaft u/j had failed.
Fitted 2mm spacers, problem solved.
I'm now a very Hoppy Bunny.
Edited by glenrobbo on Thursday 20th March 09:53
glenrobbo said:
Edit: Quinny, I just had a look at your profile.
Who is that motorcyclist having a lie-down on the kerbing?
It's a dangerous place for a kip.....
Cool pic though.
That's a certain Mr Casey Stoner...Who is that motorcyclist having a lie-down on the kerbing?
It's a dangerous place for a kip.....
Cool pic though.
2 times world champ, awesome rider, whom just packed it in cos it wasn't exciting him anymore
Longers said:
Great result Glen
I really liked the "shadow chrome" powder coat (slightly darker than yours I think) on the wheels on my old S - looked great and very easy to keep it that way.
I must confess your wheels helped me decide on the powdercoating.I really liked the "shadow chrome" powder coat (slightly darker than yours I think) on the wheels on my old S - looked great and very easy to keep it that way.
They looked good even covered in brake dust at the end of a long hard day
Quinny said:
glenrobbo said:
Edit: Quinny, I just had a look at your profile.
Who is that motorcyclist having a lie-down on the kerbing?
It's a dangerous place for a kip.....
Cool pic though.
That's a certain Mr Casey Stoner...Who is that motorcyclist having a lie-down on the kerbing?
It's a dangerous place for a kip.....
Cool pic though.
2 times world champ, awesome rider, whom just packed it in cos it wasn't exciting him anymore
I knew a stoner back iny past who used to sleep a lot......
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