Skyway wheel cleaning help??

[burnerboy]

Hi guys and gals,

Any ideas and tips on how to clean these bad boys?

I have tried that ozziis wheel cleaner on a small part of the wheel but don't seem to do much.

I know the plastic is old and bound to be faded but any tips or tricks you have tried will be greatly received.

And yes there to go on that burner frame so get over it!

[Picklez]

Others may hopefully pop along and provide better advise, and I really don't claim to be any kind of expert, but the following has worked well on Z rims in much worse condition than those lovely tuffs - I won't comment on the frame 

Wet wet-and-dry, down through the grits. I start with 600, then 1200, then 2000grit. Others may recommend also going to 3000 or 4000grit, but I didn't find the need. Some also then mention to finally wipe (not the braking area) with WD40 once finished.

One of the other options is Aqua Blasting, but (personally) I've seen a combination of great and not-so-great results with  that method. If you find a company that know what they're doing it seems to work ok. But the results I've seen from some companies leave too much of a mottled finish on the surface, probably either from too high a pressure and/or a particulate size that is too large.

As I say, I'm no expert, not done a set of Tuffs myself, but in principle the above should work.

HTH's good luck.

[deeman]

fOOK ME!! THOSE ARE BEIGER THAN MINE!!!
The only way to do it sympathetically is to peroxide them....look up threads on here, probably in Tech and Resto section...
You will need either liquid peroxide or the pastey hairdressing type....and sunloght!!!
Good luck and don't kill any seagulls!!! 

[Midschoolfool]

Don't peroxide them. Only do that if you are desperate and they are white.

It's just surface oxidisation. Use the sandpaper and elbow grease method. Friend of mine did it that way and they look new.

If it's too deep use Rit dye but the one for nylon.

[burnerboy]

Just thought I'd update you all on what I used to clean the wheels.

In the end I took them to my local sand blasters but used corn cob media to blast them with.
I think it worked really well, was a bit of a faf to get the pressures set right as was quite a fine grade I had bought but once sorted it took me about 20 mins a wheel to do.
It got all the white kak off along with alot of the surface marks bringing the yellow back into them.
I also have given them a good overnight soak in wd40 which really finished em off nice.

If you want any more info just ask.

[dp and chopper dude]

Bloody hell, they've come up well! Top work.
You can't beat a Tuff Burner. My first BMX in 1982 

[Picklez]

Agreed, they really did come out well.

So, who made the hub covers, love work like that, and where's the Sand Blaster located? He could get busy with old bike wheels all of a sudden  .

[burnerboy]

I made the covers myself as I work in sheetmetal, just thought I better knock something up to protect it all, though I don't think the corn cob would have done too much damage to it all.

The blasters are local to me here in stroud, Gloucestershire.
I know them quite well and they just let me carry on and do it myself!

When I get the rest of the burners out of hibernation I do have a mk2 tuff with the same date wheels so I shall def be doing them, also gonna try a blue set too.

[Midschoolfool]

Agreed, they really did come out well.

So, who made the hub covers, love work like that, and where's the Sand Blaster located? He could get busy with old bike wheels all of a sudden  .

It's the same for Z rims. I was given a pair of 80s yellow skyways back when I worked at the BMX shop in the late 90s. They were in a heap out the back "trash wheels" and had been in the sun for over a decade. I thought they were white, turns out not.

I gave up in the end and threw them away. I figured they were gone. Then my buddy sanded his (it took him about a week, nutter) and they came up looking like brand new. It seems the plastic oxidises in the sun, but only on the surface. So you literally just have to skim the surface off to get new looking wheels.

And yeah, those hub caps? amazing. Never seen that done before, that's very clever indeed.

[burnerboy]

Just thought I'd give an update now that the build is pretty much done.
I'm really pleased with how the wheels look and is def the way to go if you need to freshen a set up.
The bike is a mix match of bits but was just a case of getting what nos parts I could during these times (price!!)
Another one in the vault!

[Chilli Rinse]

Nice work, looks ace 👍🏼

[jat147]

Great job!