Sanding spokes...

Just a quick question if i bought some factory wheels with black spokes but fancied silver, would it weaken the spokes too much if i lightly sanded the black coating off the spoke?

buy new ones.

Unless the wheel was built radially you won't be able to get all the black off to begin with on top of it sounding like possibly the biggest pain in the hole to do ever. I'd just leave it.

That's not a problem, as it's exactly what all components manufacturers do when they want to market silver stuff. Even titanium frames are black when they're first extracted from the Earth's core.

True, just go to any black smiths.

BLACK smiths, because metal is black.

I mean people who forge metal, not a black smiths fan.

Unless the wheel was built radially you won't be able to get all the black off to begin with on top of it sounding like possibly the biggest pain in the hole to do ever. I'd just leave it.

This. Seriously don't bother.

Steel spokes would easily stand up to a bit of caustic soda. Unlike anodise coatings. It wouldn't be that hard. Do it if you think black metal is duff. I do.

nitromors?

What if they're gold underneath?

yes do it. really good idea. infact, im going to sand my silver ones to see if they are gold underneath.

Do it if you think black metal is duff. I do.

Me too...

Remove one spoke at a time, sand it and replace it trueing the wheel each time.. thats probly a weeks work though.

I must admit i'm not a fan of black spokes either. But i build my own wheel though so it's not a problem, the problem is the price of my favored spokes DT Revolutions !!

^ yes that would be the way to do it... assuming you want it to look good rather than just a half arsed job.

Or alternatively you could spend £20 on new db silver spokes and rebuild properly. Paint striper, sand paper and polishing cloths all cost money. Plus the value of your time (£3.64 p/h assuming you are 16-17yo).

Change your name to captain faceplant and then sand your spokes with coarse paper b

Spokes are in tension. Abrading them with sandpaper is likely to leave the equivalent to scar tissue. I could imagine these weak points are then likely to act as places where a failure may propagate.

I'd rather not take such a risk.

Are you seriously considering sanding your spokes?

Sanding them is just gona make your spokes look like a mess. To get black spokes to look like silver ones a lot of polishing would be needed, i think it is a very stupid idea and would be nearly impossible to do.

Why not buy wheels with silver spokes or just stop giving a toss what colour spokes you have?

just find someone who wants some black spokes
then buy some silver ones with the cash

10 mins work

he needs to work the same wonders on that chain of his

^^ It may be wrong but I like that.

A normal chain would be better. But there is something about it that just works.

the droopy chain almost matches the curve of the frame

Coarse wire wool is gonna be easier than sandpaper and there's no chance of damaging the spokes at all.

Also I wouldn't recommend nitromors, it'll get all over your hubs, nipples and rims and generally be an absolute pain to remove.

I look for any excuse to build a new set of wheels! Sell old wheels, use money to buy the parts and teach yourself a new skill. Its pretty easy if you're careful and do your research.