Restoration: Rims Complete

Rims are restored and complete thanks to a miscommunication . . . Christopher Markley powder coated all three rims. Though they are not perfect, they are "original" and look pretty damn good for being as pitted as they were when I got the SS180.

The rims and hubs were powdercoated with a matt like finish to resemble how they looked when they came out of the factory back in 1967. I use all high res (large) photos on this site so you can click to enlarge or even print for reference.

I put a lot of time in stripping and cleaning the rims in order to prep them for paint. You can read about me questioning whether to buy new rims or restore the old rims in my previous post.

Powdercoat often will call attention to the flaws in what it is covering as it did on my rims, but on the flip side it did cover some of the pitted edges. I will need to cover the pits with a liner to play it safe.

I've heard that the repro rims suck. I am happy with the outcome and would encourage you SS/GS owners to save your rims.

The powdercoat will truly protect them from pebbles, rocks, etc; though I know the purist will have words with me.

Lesson learned: make sure your medium blast your rims before powder coating for best results. I did not because the tires were locked onto the rims are required Christopher Markley to use a tire removing machine to free them. The body parts had long ago been blasted, so I stripped by hand and got "okay" results that would have been worth the $25 extra in blasting and time saved . . . so include the rims with the body of your bike when blasting.