Clear coat aluminum wheels??

[offcenter]

The aluminum wheels on my 1500 always look like hell and are difficult to get shiny again.
Has anyone tried clear coating the wheels?
If so, what product did you use?
How well has it held up over time?

[Bluewaterhooker0]

I have the same problem. I have actually polished mine to a beautiful nearly mirror finish with "Eagle One Never Dull Wadding" and "Mothers Mag & Aluminum" polish. The finish lasts until the first rain, at which point they start corroding all over again. I have tried waxing after polishing, to no avail. I recently had the wheels on my Ford Explorer 'powder coated' , or 'powder coat painted' because of the same type issues. That is a fantastic finish, that looks great, has no corrosion issues, cleans very easily, and lasts. That is the finish in the future for my GL1500 front wheel, as soon as it needs a new front tire. The tires do need to come off for the powder coat process. Find a powder coating vendor in your area and look at what he offers. I think you'll be impressed. I was quoted $75 to do the one bike wheel. There are a huge variety of colors available, in the silver range.

[offcenter]

Thanks. Powder coating sounds like a great idea.
But having to remove the car tire, the brake rotors and the wheel bearings doesn't sound so great! LOL!!
I was hoping for something I could do right in my shop.
Any other suggestions?

[hondapotamus]

I hate cleaning rims! My bike also get's washed when it rains (it sits in the driveway all season) or gets ridden in the rain

My solution was similar but something I could do myself. It does require removing the wheel, but not dismounting the tire.

I used plastidip (prodip.ca) and plastic coated the rims - front and back wheels. I used flat black so it doesn't show the brake dust. It also looks pretty good when the black rim meshing with the black tire.

3 seasons now and not cleaned once - look great!

Just have to be careful with rubber changes - a little touch up after is usually required.

[MikeB]

3 seasons now and not cleaned once - look great!
Just have to be careful with rubber changes - a little touch up after is usually required.

How about posting a couple of pictures of your Plasti Dip wheels?
Here are a couple of my Powder Coated wheels:

I had them done eight years and 80,000 miles ago.

[hondapotamus]

I'll have to make a trip to were it's stored and the lighting may not be so great in the very back of my friend's auto body shop... I'll give it try though

[WingAdmin]

3 seasons now and not cleaned once - look great!
Just have to be careful with rubber changes - a little touch up after is usually required.

How about posting a couple of pictures of your Plasti Dip wheels?
Here are a couple of my Powder Coated wheels:
Front Wheel Powder Coated 02.jpg
Rear Wheel Powder Coated.jpg
I had them done eight years and 80,000 miles ago.

Were you in India at the time?

[Ralf_CT]

I had this exact problem on an E34 BMW 540i some years ago. The BBS-style wheels would be covered in black brake dust within days of cleaning. I solved the problem by fitting Akebono ceramic brake pads. Maybe, with enough demand, Akebono will look into manufacturing Goldwing ceramic pads.

[DWingRider]

I haven't done rims with this epoxy clear coat but...

I have reconditioned hazed plastic headlights to near new. I did them 7 months ago and they still look great.

I did them in the vehicle; masking and covering took the most time. ( I regret not covering the windshield. It took 3 months to wear off the micro dust that the breeze layered it with.) I was skeptical about sanding the headlights with 400 grit before application but I did and have zero regrets in that regard. This stuff bonded right into the scratches, they totally vanished and they really do look like new. Not sure about adhesion to a polished rim.

It is very tough stuff but I'm sure tire changes could damage it. Maybe feather it thinner near the edge where tire tools hit to minimize this impact.
With a bit of research you can find the various gloss levels that are available.

A special note on this stuff. It contains some cyanide compounds. (Probably making it unavailable globally.. )
I did my project outside (mid summer) with a respirator and face shield.

[SIDECARRICH]

I'll have to make a trip to were it's stored and the lighting may not be so great in the very back of my friend's auto body shop... I'll give it try though

Just had my front rim powder coated gloss black, looks great on white 99SE with 165K+, I think as other chrome goes to hell it will be black too...lol

[minimac]

Removing the tires and bearings can be a job, but having the wheels powder coated is well worth the hassle. The finish is amazing and it stays that way, with very little maintenance.

[SIDECARRICH]

Removing the tires and bearings can be a job, but having the wheels powder coated is well worth the hassle. The finish is amazing and it stays that way, with very little maintenance.

I bought a spare set of rims on Ebay for $50 each, this way had next to no down time as when we're in Florida the wing is our only ride, and with the sidecar we like changing bearings often, and not knowing we couldn't leave them in place for powder coating because of heat it worked out well.

[kputer]

Here's a crazy idea, why doesn't Honda just Powder Coat in the first place. Especially for what the new wings cost. Any new bike come with coated wheels?

[Ralf_CT]

Everyone's addressing the symptom, but not the cause. Why don't Honda, or one of the brake pad suppliers, just make ceramic pads for the Goldwing. If enough motorcyclists contact one manufacturer then it may just prompt them to act, at this point they don't even know about our gripe.

[MikeB]

Everyone's addressing the symptom, but not the cause. Why don't Honda, or one of the brake pad suppliers, just make ceramic pads for the Goldwing. If enough motorcyclists contact one manufacturer then it may just prompt them to act, at this point they don't even know about our gripe.

Eliminating the brake dust would help a bit, but what does a guy do about road film, salt, and de-icing compounds that are put on the roads that eat the aluminum and steel on our bikes?

[Ralf_CT]

Eliminating the brake dust would help a bit, but what does a guy do about road film, salt, and de-icing compounds that are put on the roads that eat the aluminum and steel on our bikes?

True, my mistake, here brake dust is our main issue.

[Big Red 94]

I was thinking of getting my wheels chromed. What are peoples thoughts on that for my GL1800. I am about to get my cylinder heads and front engine cover done, as they are going off, so to are my wheels and I thought, Chrome... are there any bad adverse effects for doing this other than cost

[MikeB]

Having the rear wheel chromed should be a relatively simple process. The front wheel is a different matter.
There are no wheel bearings on the rear wheel but the front has machined surfaces where the bearings reside.
I had initially wanted to chrome my wheels too. I did a little research and found that the chromer's had no way to prevent the bearing wells from being chromed.

The bearing wells are pretty close tolerance machined surfaces. In order to install the bearings and seals the chrome has to be removed. When I asked others that had chromed their wheels how they installed the bearings, they said that they had to grind out the chrome to fit the bearings and seals.
I suppose that is an option if you are not too terribly concerned about bearing concentric in the wheel.
If you take that path, then now you have an area of chrome that is lifted from the aluminum where corrosion can start. Once the corrosion starts, it is there forever.

There is also the price of having the wheels chromed. When I was pricing things out I found that it was between two and three times the price to have the wheels chromed versus having them powder coated.

With all the above in mind, I opted for Powder Coating. Much cheaper than chrome in so many ways.

[Trekkor2003]

When I got my 2010 GL1800, I purchased a coating to apply to the wheels before they developed any corrosion. It is a clear resin coating that you just wipe on. I took the wheels off to make it easier to apply. It has worked great, although I admit to keeping it garaged and it has low mile (17k). It is called EverBright. There is a cleaner and coating. It is still available.

[kputer]

Having the rear wheel chromed should be a relatively simple process.
sic
When I was pricing things out I found that it was between two and three times the price to have the wheels chromed versus having them powder coated.

With all the above in mind, I opted for Powder Coating. Much cheaper than chrome in so many ways.

Hey MikeB, I'm checking on powder coating options in Lansing. One coating shop said they would have to bead blast and it won't look polished with a clear coat. What did you have to do to get the nice finish I see in the pictures? Did you polish you wheels first? I understand I'll need to remove front wheel bearing, no problem but did the powder coating get in the bearing seats as well? attached a current picture of my front wheel.
Thanks, Keith

[MikeB]

What I did was remove the bearings and seals. Cleaned the wheels so that there was no oil or grease on them. Then took them to the Powder Coater's.

I reminded them that the bearing areas and mounting points for the disk brake needed to remain un-coated. They had done many many motorcycle wheels in the past and knew exactly how to proceed. They recommended clear coating over the color coat and I agreed.

Their prep included bead or sand blasting of the wheel. I can only assume that the color coat and then clear coat took care of and imperfections made by the blasting.

The wheels as you see them have been only cleaned with a little Simple Green and a terry cloth towel over the years. No polishing is needed.

The Powder Coating is much like a normal paint job only it is baked in an oven and is considerably more durable. Take a look at this site. they can explain it much better than I can. http://kitsappowdercoating.com/benefits.htm

[kputer]

Thanks MikeB, so did they do a color coat (silver) first? I thought it was clear coat on bare wheel but this makes sense.

[MikeB]

It is a silver looking paint. They called it Class II.

[Bluewaterhooker0]

Thanks MikeB, so did they do a color coat (silver) first? I thought it was clear coat on bare wheel but this makes sense.

I assume your powder coat guy is going to paint the wheels first, then clear coat. That's what I had done to my Explorer wheels, and they came out great. There were several versions of silver paint available. They range from a basic metallic silver to a metal flake silver, and any other color you might desire. Mine were bead blasted as well, and you can't tell in the finish.

[Wildwilly018]

My rims have always been a mess on my gl1500. I keep the rest of the bike polished, but never take the time to get the rims looking better. I have at times took it into hand wash carwash and just used degreaser spray on rims. Will have to look closer at some of these ideas.