Modern Vespa

The time has come to replace the stock tyres, (actually long overdue) and I figured that whilst I was doing this I would get the rims and transmission cover powder coated in a satin black.
I've been ringing around Sydney to find someone that can do the job for me and it has proven harder than I thought.
I finally found a place that will do the coating at a reasonable price, but I'm still unsure of how to prep the rims properly. The powder coating place I found can do an acid bath if the rims are not painted, but don't have the facility to sand-blast.
My question is:
What is the finish on the stock GTS rims / trans cover?
Will an acid dip prep these successfully or do they need to be completely sand blasted before the coating?

They will be taken down to raw metal for the powdercoat to stick. I had mine done and looked great, until I had the tires mounted, the edges all chipped off. After that I choose to have them chromed from Jettin.

A powder coating facility without a sandblaster sounds... suspicious. My (admittedly limited) experience with powder coating suggests that sandblasting down to bare metal is part and parcel of the operation.

In any case, I had mine done in gloss black, and they came out fantastic. I just had the tires removed, pulled the valve stems out, and dropped them off, still filthy, at the powder coaters. They came back beautiful and glossy.

I had mine done, and the powder coat had an unintentional but beneficial effect. I used to lose air pressure pretty regularly, but since getting mine powder coated they hold the pressure, and I never lose more than a pound every other month or so. I'm happy...they look good and work better.

You are right, most coaters have a blast booth. One other benefit of powder coating is that the powder coat is easier to clean than the OEM. The coating seems not to hold on to the brake dust as well.

Can you powdercoat factory chrome rims???

Yep, no problem. The chrome has to be ground down to bare metal first. The power coater should be able to do that for you.

Wayne B

I got mine powdercoated. Nice job too. no chips when putting the new michelin's on. cost about $50 a wheel including all preparation.

When I had my rims done the powdercoater took them to Soquel to get them acid bath dipped even though he has a sandblaster over there in Salinas.

Apparently it's a much better way to strip old powder coat (which Vespa rims are from the factory) to bare metal, than blasting.

To quote him he said 'I'd be there too long making sure I got everything off with the blaster, with the dipping method it's a given, comes out clean as a whistle'....

I guess with soft alloys like wheels they don't actually use 'sand' it's a much softer media (like baking soda, or crushed walnut shells, for example) that takes a lot longer as they don't want to start losing any metal.

So I think you'll be fine, my rims came out really nice.

You know I've been looking for someone to do powder coating and chroming for my GT here in Brissie, and yes it's been a bit difficult too.

My major problem is that so many of the people who just do powdercoating/chroming for bikes also have connections to patch clubs- which I don't want to go near.