Ducati Monster Forum

Hey folks!

I've been wanting to get my wheels painted for a while now - and am a complete noob when it comes to paint.

I hear powder-coating is the way to go for wheels. My fantasy color is white (I have a red frame / red body 696) - they will be a PITA to keep clean, but whatever: Red and white screams "OMG I'M I-TALIAN!"

Looking for a bit of feedback and advice from ya'll with wheel-painting experience.

go powder coat...the P.O. of my trck bike whom still posts here on occasion spray can bombed the wheels and the wheels got some grime on em and I was cleaning some stuff off with brake clean and it started to take the paint right off and made me aware of what he had done....no biggiee...just took me a bunch of cleaning and it was all gone...but still...

+1 powder coat

+2 let me know if you need help finding a place.

Brake Cleaner is pretty harsh, some of the OEM Duc wheels won't stand up to it.

I vote for Painting, no need to remove bearings and cush drives.

And I have white wheels I want to re-color!   


Gee, got any suggestions as to where?   ;D
I'm looking at recoloring mine...will give you a call here shortly.

i vote for painting as well (even though I PC'ed mine and i have my own powdercoating setup).

Can someone list out the pros and cons for each?

I can. ;D

Could you?

Already have...several times...but because you asked so nicely I'll do it again. :-*

Paint...

Pros...
Unlimited choice of color without a significant difference in cost.

No disassembly of bearings.

Superior gloss (If you want glossy wheels)

Superior corrosion resistance if coating is breached (scratched/chipped).

Cons...

Requires a significant cure time before full hardness and durability is achieved

Powder...

Pros...
Fully cured as soon as it cools.

Powder is usually cheaper for the actual coating process. There can be hidden costs.

Cons...
Limited color choice. You're stuck with whatever your coater stocks unless you are willing to pay for 10lbs of powder.

Wheels must be disassembled raising labor and possibly parts cost.

No corrosion resistance once the coating is breached.

There are other dangers of damage to parts if the coater you choose puts parts in the oven to remove paint then sandblasts. It is extremely common in the trade as much of what they do is steel, and that practice cuts blast time and cost.

Edit...the temps that the coater uses to remove paint are what damage aluminum. There should be no damage from normal cure temps.

I've got a set of wheels, they've been PC'd.
Bearings will slide out due to their own weight.
Perhaps the wheels got over-baked, I have no idea.
They're essentially useless other than to hold a bike up.

Here is a guy who is a sponsor on www.HDForums.com (http://) and also rides a Dyna that is a part owner of this company:  http://www.thepowderpro.com (http://www.thepowderpro.com)  .

Based on other forum members comments, they do a great job.  The dude on the Dyna section (JRK5892 - pm for pricing) did his bike and some other ones and it turned out well.  He stresses that the prep is the key. 

Duh...

Prep is always the key in any process. ;)

Don't mean to be confrontational, but every trade is 99% process.

Theres a lot of hidden costs behind Powder coating. Most of it is in the prep...

You have to strip it down to metal.
It will never be as glossy as liquid paint.
It will be fully 100% cured once it cools down.
The actual coating is very cheap. Hell if you can strip your wheels for me, id do em both for $100 bucks. ;D
But youll probably pay $100+ for someone to even strip em for you depending on where you are, so pick a guy who knows how to handle different metals.

Paint for me.  Not powder.   

http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=28586.msg521119#msg521119 (http://www.ducatimonsterforum.org/index.php?topic=28586.msg521119#msg521119)

Listen to DP and use paint

I had wheels PCed and it cost twice as much to strip them as it did to PC them. I think they were dipped.

forgive my ignorance but what are the OEM wheels made of (2004 620)? 

Cast Aluminum.

For those that have painted their wheels, do you take the rubber off then paint, or tape it off? 

You'll get a much better job if the tires are removed.

ires are overrated...just paint them too!...LOL



J/K...I keed I keed

Like so?  8)

(http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_E15jc7J5CoU/SxEeA-lKefI/AAAAAAAAJ5Y/YOSaGWH_ZhY/s1600/Asphaltfighters%2520STORMBRINGER%2520Pic01.jpg)
(http://i39.tinypic.com/ivzfo1.jpg)
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_7gYNb3GSh4M/SObphJEdkuI/AAAAAAAAGs0/cXL6r8GHhlE/s400/122_0608_01_z%2B2006_ducati_monster_challenge%2Btiger_bike_static.jpg)

thanks.  I've always wanted satin polished/clear ano'd wheels, but didn't want to spend the $1800.  Was thinking about maybe getting the lip polished and leave the rest paint, or the center/spokes paint and polish the rest... hmmm

Cool guys/gals - thanks for all the feedback.

Lack of prep and glossiness might have sold me on paint - going to call around my area and get some quotes. I've changed my mind to red - along with seeing if I can't find some white bodywork on ebay. Going for the look of the new 848 evo :-)

sorry but I totally dig the Tigger bike

I've seen it in person.  8)

sorry to bring this back from the dead.  I'm about to get my 5 spokers refinished, and have chosen to go the paint route vs. PC'd.  Its more for color options and gloss reasons.

My concern is when its time to remount the tires.  Can the tire machines easily chip/scratch the paint?  How long should I wait before I go have the tires re-installed (cure time)?   Will stretching the tires over the lips of the rim possibly damage the paint?

if the person mounting the tires is careless and doesnt use the proper equipment, then yes they will scratch or chip the paint.

oh and my other question.  Does the current finish need to be bead blasted, or can the painter just sand the finish, etch prime and then spray the paint?

I guess ducpainter needs to chime in.

Yes but powder coating holds up to rocks and is very chip resistant paint is not.

I have to chime in on this.

Powder is no more chip resistant than paint.

The advantage to powder is simply that once it cools it's done and doesn't require the additional time to fully cure.

There are plusses and minuses to each system.

I know there are probably alot of variables to this question, but what's an approximate amount of time for paint to fully cure?

  I dropped my wheels off today to the paint shop.  They are getting walnut shell blasted then etch primed and prepped for 3 coats of a base coat with flex agent and then 3 coats of clear. Does this sound right? I'm going to let them sit in my basement for the remainder of the winter (4 weeks) then go reassemble with rotors and mount/balance tires.  That should be enough time to cure I hope.

7 days to pack...90 days to wax. You should be fine after a month to mount tires. Urethanes cure about 95% overnight with regard to solvent resistance. They do stay soft, depending on film thickness, for about 30 days.

Are they being blasted bare? I'm not a fan of etching primers on bare metal. I like epoxies.

I'm not 100% sure if they will be blasted bare.  Now that you mention it, I recall the painter saying something about an expoy primer. 

Etching primers do not have the corrosion resistance of epoxies.

If the wheels have bare metal showing I would request epoxy.

Guess we will agree to disagree on that one Ducpainter.
Why do you think most factory wheels are powdercoated.

if powder coating is done correctly you can hit it with a hammer and it will not chip.

Cost...plain and simple.

I'll have to disagree about the hammer thing...I call bullshit. ;)

Powder is just the pigment without the solvent...

and there is zero corrosion resistance.

there is zero corrosion resistance- Agreed.

it is not cost. it would be much cheaper to paint them, Rims are the only part not painted and it is all about durability.

Powder is just the pigment without the solvent-not true, it is plastic or polyethylene PVP crosslinked. it is what gives it the chip resistance.

fellas, fellas, cant we all get along? 

as is catalyzed urethane.

There are many reasons for powder, and it's a great process.

The upsides...

1...a monkey can do it

2...you can recycle the overspray and reduce cost

3...it's ready to assemble as soon as it cools

4...it is cheaper than liquid...don't be fooled...particularly in a manufacturing environment...that's where it shines.

The down sides...

1...reduced maximum gloss

2...zero corrosion resistance once the film is breached

3...limited color availability in the aftermarket

4 ...parts must be disassembled and blasted for refinish.

Every process has it's place...but don't tell me powder is indestructible. I know better

We're getting along...

we agree to disagree. ;D

I will call the shop tomorrow and confirm the method of priming, and request epoxy.  I just hope I dont get an earful from them challenging their paint techniques.

The only time epoxy is important is when there is a significant amount of bare metal.

If they are blasting the paint off then it would be important. If they are sanding and painting then it is less so.

I did a bunch of industrial work in the past. The military specs epoxies on aluminum, as does aerospace. There is a reason for that.

Thanks DP.  They are definately getting blasted, but I'm not sure to what extent.  Painter wasnt thrilled about hand sanding, especially all the intricate areas around the hubs.

just got off the phone with the painter.  They are not getting blasted to bare aluminum, just to the point for paint removal.  They dont want to heavily blast them raw and take chances of damaging the wheels.  They will then be coated with an etch primer for aluminum.

Just my fairly uneducated .02 cents fwiw:

I don't know much about paint vs. PC, but I did paint a set of wheels a few years ago, with DP's suggestions and they've held up really well, while looking great.

I've had several parts on my bike PC'd and have had a few chips happen fairly easily

I don't understand the difference between removing paint and not leaving bare aluminum.

Hope it works out for you.

no clue my friend.  I guess everyone has their own methods of doing things.  Not to say its proper or not.  I just hope for a quality durable result in the end. 

There is always more than one way to skin a cat, and whatever works to get the result the customer is looking for is the right one.

Keep in mind you'll need to let those wheels harden up before you mount tires.

Yup.  They'll be sitting in my furnace room for the next 4 to 6 weeks and our Canadian winter should finally be over and time to ride!

Done, and back in my hands.  Waiting a few weeks to cure before I mount rubbers.

BEFORE:
(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-xB_vIgQ2l6k/UUm5fR7-l6I/AAAAAAAAAoE/Tr3L6FbbWnA/s811/wheels+006.jpg)

AFTER:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Dylp01Fiwqg/UUm13ri6hAI/AAAAAAAAAng/2kIjRLt62NQ/s811/wheels+011.jpg)