I've recently purchased my first fixed gear bike from another rider and the rims have faded from orange to pink and I was hoping to restore it back to orange. However, after looking online, it doesn't seem nearly as easy as I thought. For the specific bike, what are some considerations for durability? Thanks for any help whatsoever!
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2Possible duplicate of Re-painting Rims– BatmanMay 2, 2018 at 22:58
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2You can't really do anything other than get new rims to restore the color if you want to actually use the brakes (a lot of fixie riders run without brakes, but this may be illegal where you live, and having brakes is good for emergencies).– BatmanMay 2, 2018 at 22:59
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1The suggested duplicate is about restoring original anodized color, not painting.– ojsMay 3, 2018 at 17:47
1 Answer
To do a proper job, get them blasted and powder coated. This won't be quick or cheap.
First, price some brand new wheels as you want them to look. This dollar-value is your hard upper limit, to compare with the costs of repainting. No point spending more than this on your old wheels.
Disassemble wheel. You want bare naked rims with no spokes. Store the loose parts safely.
Get it sand-blasted with glass or walnut or some other suitable abrasive. This will clear the old coating off leaving bare metal. Take the advise of your blasting company on the material.
Get it powder coated in bright orange or whatever colour you like. Talk to the powder coating company about protecting the brake track if you intend to brake on it. Otherwise powdercoat the whole thing. This will take days to cure and harden.
Rebuild your wheels, true them, fit up and ride.
Other options might include getting your nipples and spokes powder coated too. If you do this, buy some spares and get them coated at the same time, cos its not worth coating one spoke later. Again, protect the threads from the coating.
Do please take before/after photographs and add them to an answer later.
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