Changing appearance of '17 RT-S front wheels

[Steve W.]

Brought our 'new' Spyder home last weekend and have been looking it over, looking for things to personalize. One of the first things that <should> be easy and cheap is to improve the look of the front wheels. I have never been a fan of an all-black look, and the black wheels and black tires are a perfect example. Painting the wheels silver or even a dark gray would lighten them up a bit, then I got to thinking of polishing the raised edges of the spokes. Kinda what I am used to seeing on my old Suzukis:



Now, the question is: what is the finish on the wheels? Is it merely a strong (epoxy?) paint or is it powder coated? Would polishing the edges be a matter of simply sticking a Scotch-Brite pad or a fine sanding disk in my drill and removing the black? Just trying to avoid a problem where I leave an edge where the coating will flake off, making it look a lot worse. Of course, by then, I could paint it myself and re-polish the edges, but trying to minimize the occurance, if possible.

Just to make sure I like it well enough to start grinding away, I think I'm going to get some pinstripe tape and apply it to the edges to get a preview.
I'll post some pictures here over the weekend.

.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

I don't know what the black coating is comprised of, but if you re-move it ( and I agree it would look nice ) you will be left with bare metal ,either alloy or aluminum etc. .... wheels that are " natural " looking do have a protective coating on them ..... good luck ..... keep us posted on what you do ..... Mike

[Steve W.]

Thanks, Mike. Like I said, I'm going to start with some tape to make sure I like the look.

When done, I don't expect the edges to have a mirror finish, some fine sanding marks would be enough to brighten up the wheel.

.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Thanks, Mike. Like I said, I'm going to start with some tape to make sure I like the look.

When done, I don't expect the edges to have a mirror finish, some fine sanding marks would be enough to brighten up the wheel.

.

Your welcome ...... The sanding marks may make that area look brighter at first , however I think they will be dirt / grime magnets .... I think the smoother you can make the surface the better they will look long term ..... also consider painting them with a hard clear coating ..... good luck ..... nice DIY project ..... Mike

[Steve W.]

OK, test tape is done. (on one wheel)

Did not realize how much brake dust was on the wheel, so had to clean it first.






I did not get too meticulous in cutting curves to match, I only wanted to get a feel for how it would look from about 20 feet away.



Overall, I think I like it.



.

[pegasus1300]

As you have probably seen by now your Potobucket is putting a watermark across the pictures that makes it hard to see the effect you are looking for. Maybe time to store your pictures elsewhere.

[Steve W.]

I don't see the watermark on my views, but I am working on another site. Thanks for the notice.

.

[Luvs2Ride]

The 'preview' tape looks really sharp in your picture! Good luck with the project...
: )
Gina J

[Steve W.]

Thanks, Gina.

I'm still looking for clues about the black finish. Paint? Powder coat? ???

.

[JP58]

That is what the RTS special series wheels look like.

[cptjam]

Pretty tough finish. I’d say paint, as you can see drips in the hub occasionally.

[Steve W.]

Thanks, JP. Had to go back and look at the brochures that were sent to me to see them. The '16 Special came with "Black Chrome" wheels that don't appear to have the highlighted edges, but the '15 brochure shows them very nicely.

.

[RICZ]

I have always polished bare aluminum / magnesium with NeverDull. It brightens and leaves a protective coating. Only once in a great while do I need to go over it.

[Steve W.]

When I polish aluminum to a mirror-shine, I then seal it with Wizard's Power Seal.

Not sure that I'll polish this, will likely leave it with the appearance of fine machining marks.

.

[merlot]

hi steve
i agree...the oem black wheels look awful
your fix looks so much better
if youre looking to seal the alum then maybe try wood varnish

russ

[Steve W.]

Thanks for the suggestion. Would (wood?) not have thought of using varnish.

I do have some polyurethane clear, if I don't like what Wizard's might do.

.

[johnsimion]

Beautiful job, but it seems like it would have been a heckuva lot easier to just repaint the wheels, apply rim tape, Colorlugs, etc.

[Steve W.]

Trust me, that's NOT permanent.

That was just a quickie experiment to see if the silver edges would look decent.

Apparently Can-Am thought it was decent enough for the '15 RT-S Special Edition, but I did not know that until after I read post #10.

.

[Steve W.]

OK, it's a little too cool and damp for a comfortable ride this evening, so I spent some time in the shop.

The tape is gone and some paint is gone.





I like it. She hasn't seen them yet. (It's HER bike.)

.

[JP58]

OK, it's a little too cool and damp for a comfortable ride this evening, so I spent some time in the shop.

The tape is gone and some paint is gone.





I like it. She hasn't seen them yet. (It's HER bike.)

.

What did you use to remove paint and how?

[Steve W.]

I used a 4 1/2" flap disk on a cheap Harbor Freight angle grinder.

I took the wheel off, placed it on a swivel stool and sat on another stool near it. Pretty much kept my body in the same position and rotated the wheel under me. Used a VERY light touch and tried to keep the grinder straight and parallel to the wheel to avoid rounding off the edges.

After all the paint was gone, there were some scratches (they looked like deep machining marks) across the edges, so I used some fiber surface conditioning discs, also from Harbor Freight.

I did not pay any attention to the clock while I was doing it, but it probably took about 45 minutes to jack up one side, remove the wheel, clean the paint off the edges, put the wheel back on and put the bike back down.

I did not get any pictures of the process, but it can be re-created, if necessary.

.

[RICZ]

Steve, what type of tape did you use to protect areas you weren't sanding?

[Steve W.]

Steve, what type of tape did you use to protect areas you weren't sanding?

The INVISIBLE kind.

No tape used, just a steady hand or two.

.

[RICZ]

The INVISIBLE kind.

No tape used, just a steady hand or two.

.

We are alike in that regard. Good work Steve.

[Psp501]

IMO, it looks much better than the original. Great job. enjoy your ride