10chris46
Hi I'm thinking of having my spiked wheels powder coated,does anybody know if the process would damage or weaken the spokes,Thanks chris
Deleted Member
Shouldn't damage your spoked wheels.
You could have them striped and rebuilt only painting the rims and hubs or you could paint the whole assembeld wheels coating the spokes, hubs and rims. The choice is yours.
Deleted Member
It won't damage them per se, but it may not give the result you want, if it's just cosmetic?
Unless they're stainless spokes (and then why would you want to coat them..) they are almost certainly galvanised, and the curing temperature of the powder coating will almost certainly cause some out-gassing as you'll have oxides and other things lurking in the surface. Which will probably lead to poor adhesion, peeling, lumps, and cracks on the powder coating.
New spokes are relatively inexpensive, and wheel building is not that dear either.
May I ask why you want to coat them? Curious...
10chris46
Thanks for your replies, I'm having them coated because previous owner didn't look after it and they look a mess,also having paint job done and want wheels to look as good as the rest of the bike
nickscafe
Look a mess...? In what way?
Genuine spokes should clean up OK with some mild grade wire wool, unless they're really pitted.
In which case, it would be wiser to have the wheel rebuilt...which isn't much different to the cost of powder coating and would look far superior.
Same with the wheels...even chrome will take a soft paste polish and very mild cutting.
Deleted Member
From my experience, any kind of coating on spokes is a waste of time, because it damages so easily. Stainless is the best option any day.