Preparing and painting hubs

Hi guys!

So I want make my hubs good looking before assembling. I want to paint the entire front hub with VHT aluminium paint and the rear I will polish on the side, and in between I will paint it with the VHT. I have sanded and cleaned with WD-40 and a brush for many hours now, and even soda blasting, but I still have grease and a bit of corrosion. How do I get it properly prepped? Is glass blasting really the only way?
 
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"polishing' aluminum is actually more like sanding. You will need abrasive to remove the embedded oxidation.

Another popular option these days is to take it to a machine shop and have them mill the ribs out of the center, making it smooth in the center. Lighter too.
 
I've already sanded and polished on the drum cover, so I'm beginning to understand that process, so I understand that. My issue is all the small corners where I can't sand, and therefore can't preb the metal or remove the grease probably.

What kind of abrasive?
 
DohcBikes said:
"polishing' aluminum is actually more like sanding. You will need abrasive to remove the embedded oxidation.

Another popular option these days is to take it to a machine shop and have them mill the ribs out of the center, making it smooth in the center. Lighter too.

You can make them look so much better than just turning them smooth.

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Best thing for hubs is powder coat i reckon. I painted the rear hub on my bike in 2k which looked great, but it didn't stand up well to being laced up. It chipped and got scratched, so I started afresh, had it media blasted and powder coated.

Finish looked no different, but its so more forgiving than paint.
 
Painting them is tricky as UK Mark said, but not impossible. I have had very good durable results with 2K, but the quality prep needed requires (in my experience) exceptionally dangerous chemicals (chromic acid and cyanide) and I wouldn't recommend it for that reason. Still requires media blasting anyway. I usually machine and polish, but powder is probably the best thing if you simply have to paint.

Man, those are some great looking hubs J-rod - T500? I have a similar fixture for turning hubs, but looks like you must have re-bored the clearance holes for the spokes? (EDIT) Never mind, I see you are milling them, man, I thought it was tedious on a lathe - Nice! Wish there was a way to keep them looking like that! Do you do anything to help preserve the bare finish?
 
CB350 I built last year. I painted them.

Yeah, the rotary table is much easier than the lathe.

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Well color me fooled. You know, I thought the in first pic they looked awfully uniform for machined and polished - never thought of machining them like that - they look like Suzuki, but they sure do look nice. How do you do the paint? No doubt the OP (and me) wants to know. How are they holding up? I am super happy with my own method, aside from the potentially lethal (and definitely illegal) passivation process. Has to be a friendlier way.
 
J-Rod10 said:

Wow those look awesome. How have they held up? I thought about doing something like that on a project but was dissuaded by the machinist telling me that those ridges help keep the drum liner from going out of round.
 
jpmobius said:
Well color me fooled. You know, I thought the in first pic they looked awfully uniform for machined and polished - never thought of machining them like that - they look like Suzuki, but they sure do look nice. How do you do the paint? No doubt the OP (and me) wants to know. How are they holding up? I am super happy with my own method, aside from the potentially lethal (and definitely illegal) passivation process. Has to be a friendlier way.
They weren't really corroded, so that wasn't an issue. Scotch brite, primer, paint, clear. Paint still looks brand new.
 
doc_rot said:
Wow those look awesome. How have they held up? I thought about doing something like that on a project but was dissuaded by the machinist telling me that those ridges help keep the drum liner from going out of round.
No offense but that makes no sense to me at all since the drum is rotating as pressure is applied. My thinking is that the ridges were for overall strength and cooling, to reduce the possibility of a complete failure, especially when hot. Like many old bike parts, they were overbuilt.

I will add that J-rods design would certainly stay cooler under extreme conditions than a smooth surfaced drum would.
 
Thank you for the replies!

I have decided to glass blast them, best way to get a good result.
I had hoped to paint them myself, put I see the issue in the paint chipping.

I could also polish it all, but won't it just fade and corrode and be impossible to maintain with the spokes being in my way?
 
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