What do Polished Comstars look like?

[robin1731]

Scott, that is Purdy. And, good to see you.

[sunnbobb]

http://ngwclub.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=540909#p540909

[bladredhead]

So are the "spokes" stainless steel? The few GL comstars I have come across have steel spokes, but mild steel doesn't polish up like the examples at all!

I just figured they were coated or something, though that seems myopic because they'd be the only 70s steel Honda part that doesn't seem to rust

[sunnbobb]

Hmmm, most of the comstars I have disassembled for scrap have aluminum spokes.

[bladredhead]

I thought the aluminum ones were the recalled ones? I admit that what I don't know about this could roughly fill the grand canyon

[sunnbobb]

good question.. gonna have to take my magnet out to the shed!

[robin1731]

good question.. gonna have to take my magnet out to the shed!

If they are stainless the magnet probably won't stick either. There is some stainless that will attract a magnet but not often used.

[sunnbobb]

It they are stainless, they will polish up really nice.

[bladredhead]

I just got back from the Bladredhead Mystery Science and Totally Rigorous Testing Facility and Tinkering Lab (BMSTRTFTL for future reference) located in my garage. I can say with little doubt that the spokes on my set of comstars, known to have been born with, and accompanied through it's entire life, my 1978 gl1000, are in fact stainless steel.

to the right: a stack of magnets roughly horizontal to the ground, firmly attached to the spoke by the magic that is magnetism.
slightly to the left of the aforementioned stack: an slightly shinier area where i used a razor blade to lightly, then slightly less lightly, then pretty dern forcefully and at an aggressive angle, scrape the grime off the spoke. it's way harder than anodized aluminum and didn't bite in at all.
note the white flecks on the aluminum rim. this is corrosion from the somewhat salty san francisco bay area air. there was ample opportunity for rust to occur had this been some other ferrous based magical metal.


test details, should anyone care to confirm or discredit my findings:
-elapsed testing time: ~2 minutes
-protective clothing: shorts, t-shirt and flip flops (california facility, adjust for your coordinates and Facility Heating Factor)
-magnets: rare earth, though unlikely to have made a difference. check your refrigerator for suitable units
-razor blade: painter style, lightly used but still sharp
-biohazard: thankfully, no bleeding for this research.

[sunnbobb]

Cool beans.. Now for the peer review.. LOL. magnets stuck to stainless steel? And what year comstar is this one?

[twowings]

Sure it can be magnetic! There are 3 different types of stainless and some are magnetic, based on their iron content. Ferritic and Martensitic stainless steels are magnetic. Austenitic stainless steels are non-magnetic.

[bladredhead]

Sunbob the wheels are 78 vintage

[trevor42]

If the '78s are stainless, I could then reasonably deduce that my '79s are also stainless. Maybe, when I finally get back to mine, I should give polishing them a shot.
Do you guys know if anyone has ever successfully disassembled and then reassembled a comstar?

[roncar]

(Reading between the lines) The very early 78 comstar front wheels had aluminum spokes. Those wheels were recalled and replaced with ones that had steel spokes, ie a magnet will stick to them, like all the later 78 comstar front wheels. http://www.ngwclub.com/File%20Share/100 ... 00%239.pdf

Based on that and the fact that a magnet will not stick to a front 79, rear 78, or a rear 79, I assume those spokes are aluminum. I have no clue on the type of steel used in 78 comstar front spokes.

Do you guys know if anyone has ever successfully disassembled and then reassembled a comstar?

I have heard rumors, but wouldn't try it myself.

[Hoosier Daddy]

As mentioned earlier, there is some grades of Stainless a magnet will not stick to. So that is not a reliable test.

Being the devils advocate here, and comparing apples to oranges, I firmly believe my 81's were aluminum. Stainless has a different reaction to polishing (harder) and has a more "brown" tint while Aluminum is more "white" if that makes sence.
No evinece... just a gut feeling.