How do you tell what kind of wheels you are dealing with?

I

imported_hockeyplaya13

New member
I know how to identify chrome, because that's what I have. But I have no idea what anodized aluminum looks like, or alloy (or what that even is), or coated vs. uncoated aluminum, etc... Is there a guide somewhere that explains it all and how to know what you are working with?
 
I know how to identify chrome, because that's what I have. But I have no idea what anodized aluminum looks like, or alloy (or what that even is), or coated vs. uncoated aluminum, etc... Is there a guide somewhere that explains it all and how to know what you are working with?







Well all wheels these days are made of alloy of aluminum or magnesium or both, chrome wheels are alloys wheels coated with chrome,



aluminum alloys dull looking metal colour

magnesium alloy lighter, usually very shiny metal

anodized aluminum coated wheels has protective coating, which can be scratched easy. more expenisve to buy than uncoated.



i dont really know if ive answered anything or not
 
Ok, thanks, that's more than I knew when I started this thread. I'm hoping someone can chime in with some example pictures that really show the difference. I searched google images, but it only came up with product pictures and that didn't do any good.
 
The majority of wheels you see on production cars are painted alloy with clearcoat...very much like the body of the car.



Un-coated aluminum wheels do require special care/handling. I doubt you'll come across them often.
 
tom p. said:
The majority of wheels you see on production cars are painted alloy with clearcoat...very much like the body of the car.



Un-coated aluminum wheels do require special care/handling. I doubt you'll come across them often.
Click to expand...



Un-coated aluminum will turn a cloth black when polishing.
 
Anodizing has a signature look and texture...once you've seen enough of it you'll be able to ID it. Sorry, but I can't for the life of me think how to explain it. The big thing about anodizing IME is that it's *fragile*, even the special Mil-Spec stuff (which *is*, IMO, still superior enough to warrant its added cost and the hassle of finding a shop that does that).



I'm starting to think that some of today's factory wheels aren't just painted with b/c after all....



Some wheels that appear to be b/c painted are in fact powdercoated. You usually figure that out when the don't polish up the way clearcoat will, or when your painter tries to strip the for a refinish (yeah...what a mess that turned into :o ).



Some "machine finished" wheels look like they're polished with a normal clearcoat, but those don't correct like paint either and you can make things worse instead of better if you try the wrong abrasive on some of them (e.g., the chrome-like polished wheels on my GMC). I suspect they might have a clear powdercoat or somesuch, at least in the case of the ones on the A8.
 
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