Painting Spokes?

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bjaspud

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I have completely dissassembled my 26" rim. My plan is to bead blast and pain the rim. Unfortunately some of the spokes are rusty. Does anyone have experience painting spokes then re-lacing the wheel. I assume I will have to mask the threads. Are there any other tricks or concerns in painting spokes?
 
OK - so new spokes it is. How do I properly measure spoke length? Measure from where to where? Where is a good place to buy spokes?
 
bjaspud said:
OK - so new spokes it is. How do I properly measure spoke length? Measure from where to where? Where is a good place to buy spokes?
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Id just take one of them to a local bike shop and they should be able to sell or order you some.
 
Painting and lacing up old spokes isn't really that hard. To prep the spokes I usually soak them in simple green to get any grease/dirt off and then use some fine grit sandpaper to sand off any rust and then use a clean cloth to wipe them down. For a 36 spoke wheel I can usually prep them all in under 30 minutes. Then I have two half inch boards, one with holes drilled all the way through it.
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I poke the spoke nipples through the holes and then screw the other board to the back of it to hold them in, then you can screw your spokes down into the nipples and when you paint them the threads on the spokes are covered and the spoke nipples don't get paint all over them.
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I've found that as long as you let the paint dry for at least 48 hours and you're careful lacing them up then scratching isn't a problem. Here's one of the most recent wheel's I've done.

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I have painted a lot of spokes and I've only had one wheel that the spokes got really scratched and chipped. I have a setup kind of like mesome's (just some boards with holes drilled in them), just make sure that the spokes are all evenly painted before you start lacing the wheel. :D
 
udallcustombikes said:
Great technique! I would think as you put the spokes through the hub they would scratch. What paint do you use?
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Nah, don't seem to have any problem with the hub scratching them, my spoke wrench is all metal though and I have a tendency to drop it when I'm truing them which can leave a few knicks. The paint's nothing special, just gloss white Rust-Oleum from a spray can.
 
I have a somewhat related question and I didn't feel like starting a new thread and it seemed relevant to this topic so I figured I would just ask here instead.

I am in the process of rebuilding some wheels and am planning on painting the rims but how do you true the wheels after they are painted without scratching the paint up from the truing stand (I will be using a Park TS-2 stand which has metal calipers)? I suppose I could cover the tips of the calipers up with some cloth but I was wondering if any one had any other good hints that may work better.

Thanks
 
Impale a contrasting colored crayon on the tip. It will leave a harmless mark that will show locations of linear runout and any radial difference in those locations as well.
 
I have a TS-2 also. Whenever I true any wheel I adjust the caliper so it is almost touching the rim at the most unture part of the wheel, that way you never scratch a rim be it painted or not. :D
 
On a flip bike, I'll usually spray some silver spray paint on a rag, and rub the spokes with it. You can't get into every nook & cranny, but itll freshen up a wheel with a few dark or rusty spots on the spokes. Works on the scratched up ends of pedals and handlebars too! -Adam
 
I hope the remnants of T.S. Andrea are past enough for me to paint some spokes this weekend.
 

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