The Fusion Powder Coating of an aluminum wheel can be an intricate and time-involved procedure. Below are some of the major steps required to Fusion Coat a wheel. Additional proprietary operations contribute to the wheel’s final form.
Step 1. The vehicle is dropped off – This vehicle was dropped at our facility in Valencia, CA. Beyond our finish work, we have the ability to dismount tires, re-mount, Road Force Balance, and Nitrogen fill upon completion of our Fusion Coat process. Here is how this truck looked before we started. Stock and some of the original OEM finish has begun to peel off.
2. After removal from the vehicle, Calchrome catalogs the product for processing into the system by photograph and engraving. The customer also purchased a set of the Open Country R/T Toyo Tires through us for their truck once the Fusion Coating was completed.
3. Wheels Engraved for identification
4. Testing for Trueness / SPIN checking on Hunter GSP9700 – All wheels for the process are checked for trueness and run out on one of Calchrome’s Hunter Engineering GSP9700 Road Force balancers before processing. This is done to determine if any repair work is required. Repairs need to be done before the finish. Sure enough, one of the wheels with a flat spot that needed to be repaired; Calchrome utilizes state of the art in-house equipment to handle almost any repair and can do so on the spot. This helped to not impede on customer time as many companies have to outsource these types of repairs.
5. Repair Equipment – Some shops will use a big hammer to straighten wheels (not the way to do it). Shown is CalChrome’s hydraulic pneumatic wheel repair equipment that not only has the ability to repair flat spots but also can repair wheels that are bent out of round and or bent at the hub. Sizes that range from 14” all the way up to 24”
6. Paint Strip – The Fusion Powder Coating process starts with the removal of the original finish, when required. In this case there were peeling issues that required complete remove of current finish. We prefer to chemically strip the wheels as it provides a smoother finish to work with as opposed to bead blast or sand blast to remove the base paint or coating. The downside of blasting is that it can round off the decorative edges and change the look of the wheel.
7. Spin Checking after Repair and Paint Strip – After repairing and paint stripping the wheels are checked again on the GPS9700 to ensure that they receive a passing grade and that the wheels are true.
8. Wheel Preparation – We now wash the wheels off.
9. Pretreatment – Environmentally friendly cleaner and adhesion promoter.
10. Wheels are preheated – Without this procedure, there is a possibility that blisters might develop under finish due to the porosity of the base substrate.
11. Primer Application – Into the Fusion Powder coating booth where anti-gassing self-leveling primer is applied. You can also see multiple fluidizing hopper canisters which are unique to CalChrome system. These hold different colors which allow for immediate color changes as necessary. Unlike a box feed unit which has a suction tube that has to be removed and cleaned before changing to another color. Then into the oven for curing.
12. Wheel Prep – After the primer has been applied sanding is performed to smooth out the primer preparing for the base color coat.
13. Base Coat (Power Pulse Technology) – Back to the booth applying the base color coat. Calchrome selected Parker Ionics equipment for their Pulse Power technology which provides superior Faraday cage penetration and transfer efficiency. Also shown, is the distribution manifold which allows the technician to select from which fluidizing hopper the desired color to be applied. Which in this case was our New Evo Grey finish. Then again, back into the oven for some more bake time.
14. Clear Coat – After the base coat was applied and partially cured, the additional customized part of this job was to apply a high gloss clear coat. Then they went back into the oven for the final cure.
15. Low NOx Emitting Oven – State of the art and new for 2014 -on Government required low NOx emitting numerically controlled 800,000 BTU oven. Ensures consistent bake and cure parameters.
16. Completion – The Finishing is complete. Notice also how the wheels were attached to the custom fixture. Unlike other coaters who might use wire to wrap around the wheel to hold it (see brand X). CalChromes process insures complete coverage with no edges to peel or corrode.
17. Quality Control – After quality control inspection wheels are ready for installation
18. Installation – What we also liked about Calchrome was they have the ability to do all the mounting installation, road force balancing and nitrogen inflation in a one-stop-shop.
19. Here is our new Toyo tires supplied by Toyo being installed by one of the many touch less Hunter tire changers
20. Hunter GSP 9700 Road Force Balancer – Now to road force shown on the Hunter GSP9700. This unique balancer has a large roller that presses against the tire and wheel assembly simulating the road surface. Measurements are calculated so the high (tire) spot and low (wheel) spots are mated together to provide the most concentric and true wheel – tire assembly.
21. Toyo and Road Force The new Toyo tires Road Forced very nicely at only 17 pounds were the limit is 39
22. Reinstallation – Installation back on the truck and torqued to factory specs and time to test drive
23. All Done – The wheels look great on this truck!. Sporty and different. Another happy customer! Total processing time was less than a week in this case.
Project Completed!
PROJECT COMPLETE
We make it easy for you to get wheels or parts Fusion powder coated. Please contact us through the button below and we’ll give you a free quote for your project!
