Bicycle Mechanics - Spoke spraying/painting

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morby14
04-30-05, 10:51 AM
Hi,
I am no big biker but i would just like to know whether any1 can recommend a method and paint i can use to spray my silver spokes- black? Black looks a lot better on a bike but i dnt have much money so i cant exactly go and but new wheels. So does any1 know of black paints for this sort of thing?

Thanks for your time and help

PWRDbyTRD
04-30-05, 11:44 AM
just get black spokes...trying to paint them would probably be a nightmare.
mswantak
04-30-05, 01:23 PM
It's not a real nightmare -- just time consuming to mask off the rim and hub. I've done it before; Rustoleum would be a good choice.

Dirtbike
04-30-05, 01:33 PM
You would be best off delacing the wheel and hanging the spokes with string or something. I can only imagine how difficult it would be to mask a hub and a rim.

And if you have to delace them to paint them, just screw the painting and buy black spokes.
Retro Grouch
04-30-05, 03:15 PM
Sure seems like a lot of work to me to make spokes that are going to look really crummy when the paint starts to chip off.
phantomcow2
04-30-05, 03:55 PM
remember, you wont even be able to tell they are black spokes when you are riding ;)
Raiyn
05-01-05, 02:59 AM
Sure seems like a lot of work to me to make spokes that are going to look really crummy when the paint starts to chip off.
Exactly. Plus getting paint in your nipples is a bad thinghttp://img236.echo.cx/img236/8158/copyrighttiny0lb.jpg
morby14
05-01-05, 04:14 AM
Right thanks for your time and replies. I thought it would be a good idea because i am no professional biker n quite frankly i am a teen with no money as usual!! So you are all saying bad idea to spray a rag and wipe on some paint????
NJWheelBuilder
05-01-05, 05:59 PM
Its a really bad idea. The paint will go into the nipples, making it very difficult to true the wheel. Also, its unlikely the paint will stick.
phantomcow2
05-01-05, 06:09 PM
if it works it will look pretty at first. but then after a while the paints gonna start coming off. So when people question that you will have to tell them they are a special kind of spoke and "everybody is doing it"
CATZ
05-01-05, 08:06 PM
A "magic marker" might stain them and be acceptable. ????
morby14
05-02-05, 01:25 PM
magic marker! black marker pen! i might do 1 spoke with an alcohol based pen and see what it looks like after a week or 2, if its crummy like you lot think it wil be i wont carry on
Al1943
05-02-05, 08:19 PM
I think your time would be better spent riding the bike. But then I prefer the looks of unpainted stainless steel.
Paint on spokes adds weight at a place you don't want more weight.

Al
mswantak
05-02-05, 08:40 PM
Well, DUH! You mask off the nipples -- just like Wendy O. Williams. And yeah, the weight issue; all those extra grams of rotating mass; it just boggles the mind.

:rolleyes:
Prioria
05-02-05, 09:48 PM
Well, if painting them is a mess you might want to "revive" their natural shine by using some "Scotch Brite" or "Brillo"!