Polish it While it Still Shines! That’s Exactly the Secret to Long-Lasting Shine!

How to

Spoke wheels that have rusted bright red are difficult to restore to their original shine, but there are many spoke wheel vehicles that would be a waste of time if they could be polished to restore their shine. Here, we will focus on the care of spoke wheels to maintain their beauty and shine.

If it's just dark spots, it can still be beautiful.

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Even if you think you polish the rims of your spoked wheels every time you wash your motorcycle, a few machine owners polish each and each spoke wheel. If polished too much, the plating layer will come off and cause rusting, but polishing within the range of the unichrome plating layer will give the wheel its exceptional beauty. By using a brass brush and a fine-grained non-woven sheet (such as Scotch-Brite), spoke wheels can be made amazingly beautiful.

Gently polish with a brass brush or non-woven sheet.

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If you polish the spoke surfaces with an iron wire brush or a stainless steel wire brush, you may pass through the thin plating layer and reach the metal crust. If this happens, be careful, because even if they temporarily look shiny, they will rust bright red after a while. When I bought a used motorcycle, the spoke wheels were blackened, so I decided to polish them. I cut a fine non-woven sheet into strips and used the non-woven strips to polish them in the manner of shoe polish while spraying kerosene in a spray bottle, and this was very effective.

Use metal plating protection chemicals.

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Be careful not to scrub too hard, as this may reach the metal surface and cause rusting.
Keep in mind to check the situation while polishing. After polishing the spokes, wash the motorcycle or rinse off the dirt with parts cleaner, spray the chemical on a rag using a spray protectant or spray wax and polish the spokes with the rag to protect their shine.

I thought I kept it clean.

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When spray chemicals are sprayed toward the spokes, most of it is often wasted on an empty wipe. During the protective wiping process, keep in mind to spray it on a rag and then wipe it off. Spoke wheels that have regained their shine compared to spoke wheels that have been darkened by dirt.
When all the spokes shine, it gives a completely different impression. Let's try polishing. Also, if there is shine, be sure to wax the spokes after washing.

POINT

Point 1 - Try to get a protective glaze before it rusts bright red!

Point 2 - Do not use sandpaper or iron stainless steel brushes because they are aggressive.

Point 3 - Special chemicals or, if not available, silicon spray can be used as a substitute.

A bike is just beautiful when its spoke wheels sparkle. Especially when photographed backlit, spoke wheels are exceptionally beautiful! There are a surprisingly large number of cases where cast wheel models are modified to spoked wheels because they are smitten with such beauty.  Once upon a time, when cast wheels were at the height of their popularity, there was a model that received numerous complaints from users as soon as the model was changed from spoked wheels to cast wheels, and the manufacturer changed its mind. The Yamaha SR is a model in this category, but there are many machine owners who have kept the spoked wheels and widened the front and rear rims in order to install modern high-performance tires. According to a store that specializes in spoked wheels, there are still many diehard fans of the conversion of cast wheels to spoked wheels and wider rims, and there are more than a certain number of orders for such conversion. It is likely that there are many users who think that spoked wheels are beautiful.

In general, most spoked wheel models have spokes with a unichrome plated finish. In the case of the unichrome plated finish, blackening symptoms appear at the beginning of staining, followed by the appearance of red rust as the plated surface fades. Once this happens, there is no way to restore the shine except by replacing the spokes, but this can be done on the premise of customization. However, if the wheels are to be customized, it is possible to mask the rim and hub side of the wheel assembly and modify it to a painted finish.

If it is a blackening symptom, the plating surface can be restored by following the method described in the photo explanation. Once the shine is restored, practice chemical polishing to make the shine last as long as possible. Here, we tried using a chrome plating protection and rust prevention agent, and it was effective. Spray wax can also be used to prolong the shine. Once the shine is achieved by polishing, do not be satisfied with the shine, but take care to protect and sustain the shine.

Generally, chrome-plated spokes are beautiful when new, but if care is continuously forgotten, point rust will spread and the spokes will rust bright red when noticed. Since many American models and Harleys have chrome-plated spokes, it is a good idea to keep in mind to protect them with special chemicals at the stage of maintaining their shine.

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