Painting Rims?

[DOUG]

Hi All, been lurking here for a while. Long story short I'm building up a CAAD10 as a daily ride and would like to go with a stealth look.

I currently have a set of DA C24's and they are a fantastic wheel set but that graphic is hideous. Any chance its possible to simply sand it back and clear coat it? Obviously would need to be careful not to damage the brake track but i think i might even be able to do it without re-lacing the wheelset.

Thoughts?

[Geoff]

That would be no problem.

[11.4]

I don't see how you're going to have a high quality finish without unlacing the rims. Sanding down the rims will create an uneven scratched finish and take an enormous amount of time to prep properly for a clear coat. And painting without spraying them is unlikely to be that good looking. I've seen rims powder coated plenty of times, masking the tubular gluing surface and the braking surfaces, but that requires heating them which in turn requires unlacing.

Honestly, I wouldn't try it. You can get into it and not like the result at all. Better would be to sell those wheels and get something in a cosmetic that you like. Those wheels aren't that bad looking, so I'd really suggest just using them as is.

[DOUG]

Hmm fair point. Was looking at it last night and I think it would be very difficult to get a consistent finish. Might have to look at a set of Mavics or Fulcrums to complete the build.

[Multebear]

Just don't.

Build (or get build) a wheelset even better than the C24's. Lots of options out there. C24's aren't that fantastic IMHO.