Hey guys...48 new spokes arrived today! Now for the BIG decesion(s). Paint(and color) or leave natural wood. I know there have been several threads on this, but i'm interested in seeing examples if you guys have them available. This will be a 16 touring. I know the 'correct' example is painted black.....maybe I'll need a second set of wheels???
These will be 30" demountables.
Thanks...
Michael
It's all a matter of personal preference, of course. I prefer stock. I use rattle cans of black appliance epoxy enamel.
Hi Michael, the black looks great and if it's correct and that's your desire than go for it. I personally like the stained and varnished look utilizing spar varnish or linseed oil. The one guy that uses linseed oil soaks his spokes for an extended amount of time. And I imagine some people use polyurethane. The one thing you want to make sure your aware of is how the finish you put on will hold up to sunshine. Heck, we've even got some guys in our club that paint them red. And that looks really neat. I guess it's all about what you want.
Hey Steve, how about posting a photo of your spare tire carrier someday when you get a chance. I want to build something for my touring and you just might have the design I need. Thanks, Mike
I would love to see an example of one painted in red. Changing paint 'colors' should never be a problem. However, going from paint to polyurethane or vise versa would be a huge task.
Also, I keep seeing the word varnish tossed around. Do you guys actually use varnish or urethane?
Steve....I know you went through a layers of primer - sanding - primer - sanding -paint, etc. If you had to do it again, what would your procedure be? Would you also mask off the faces where the spokes come in contact with eachother so you don't get such a build up of paint?
Thanks...
Michael
Steve...What did you do to finish the rims? Thus far, I have blasted mine and had them e-coated. I'm think of just spraying them with a 'galvanized looking" paint.
Thoughts?
Michael
I had to make the same decision when I had one of my wheels rebuilt. After a little beard stroking, I decided on stain and varnish, which, if done according to the directions on the can, takes weeks. But, in my humble opinion, the wood-grain does look nicer than plain ol' black paint. After I paint the hub and rim and mount the tire, I'll have another three wheels to do. Guess I'll be busy this winter.
Michael, I think the next time I paint spokes I'll try wood primer. The finished product with auto primer looks good, but seems to me that it's too easy for little nicks and dings to show up. I don't know whether the wood primer will take any less sanding or not.
I didn't mask the flats. I just didn't spray them directly, and the little bit of overspray on them didn't seem to matter.
For the story on the rims, look about halfway down in this thread: http://www.mtfca.com/discus/messages/257047/298628.html.
Thanks Steve...I've had my rims and hubs e-primed, so I think I'll try and spray them with a galvanized look paint.
Also, I'm trying the sanding sealer/gunstock stain/3 coats of spray spar urethane on the wooden spokes. They seem to look pretty darn good to me. Just one of the way to skin the cat I guess.
Rattle cans of black appliance epoxy enamel here too... Red oak stain cut 70/30 with boiled linseed oil, then 4-5 coats of polyurethane.
No doubt that stock wheels always look good.
However, I have always liked the look of varnished wheels as well, and if they are to be painted, I think that red always looks stylish on a black T. When I bought my '24 Touring, the wheels on it were painted red somewhere down the line. When I redo the wheels, I'm going to keep them red. They just look too good!