Have a used set of clinchers going to be sandblasted and powdercoated. I am redoing a '25 T Coupe (not to show standards). In looking at pics there seems to be a mix of black and white clincher colors.
What was correct in '25? Any other suggestions? Would powdercoating be ok or does it need to be paint for some reason?
btw, going to stain the spokes natural...
thanks
I see a lot of them that are silver. I don't know if that would be a factory color though. As far as powdercoating goes? It's more expensive to have done than paint but it's really tough and can take being hit with a hammer and not damaged. It's been my choice in the past and it will be my choice in the future. Actually these days it's pretty simple to do it yourself if you've got an oven that'll go to 400 degrees for about an hour.
btw, I think natural stain is the only way to go too. Some might argue that black is correct but I think natural looks a whole lot better.
Rowland,
To my eye, the black rims are original clincher rims. The silver ones you see are most likely demountables of one sort or another. That is, the clincher rim is removable to change the tire quickly to your spare. The standard clincher is not removable.
30x 3.5 demountable clinchers, the rim was zinc plated making it a silver color. Here is a Youtube.com link of a 1925 chassis. At the 10sec mark is a good shot of the wheels with natural spokes and zinc plated rims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsQQ-RxF-G0&list=UUElQN1sjef7dAHHqcpviOgA&index= 13&feature=plcp
30x 3.5 demountable clinchers, the rim was zinc plated making it a silver color. Here is a Youtube.com link of a 1925 chassis. At the 10sec mark is a good shot of the wheels with natural spokes and zinc plated rims.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsQQ-RxF-G0&list=UUElQN1sjef7dAHHqcpviOgA&index= 13&feature=plcp
Thanks Mike...I looked at a lot of the pics at the entrance to the site and they looked white but I guess they are silver actually. I think that's the way to go!
For zinc plating (generally referred to as "galvanizing"), there is two options. One is "hot dip" where the steel is cleaned by sandblasting and then dipped into a vat of molten zinc. This provides the toughest and longest lasting coating/protection. The other option is truly "plating" which is referred to as "electrozinc coating". This usually very thin and if left outside will usually only last 5-10 years (at least around here in a dry climate)
Both are available where I live (Calgary Alberta Canada).
Natural wood spokes are popular, but the wheels came from the factory black. As Mike says, rims were galvanized. I agree, hot dipped is better than electroplated. That's why I buy old hot dipped roofing nails at auctions so I don't have to use the modern electroplated ones that turn to rust spots in a year or two. Here are some hot dipped Hayes clincher rims.
And here they are on the stock black wheels.
Now I understand the rim color