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Wheel 101
4 mins read

4 Different Wheel Finishes You Need to Know

When it comes to finishes on premium forged wheels, there are a lot more to choose from than generic color options (i.e. black, silver, bronze, gold etc.) seen on most of the off-the-shelf cast or flow-formed wheels. You may be confused about what are the different finishes can be done to a wheel? In this article, we’ll explain the finish options that are available from Forgelite Wheels and other manufacturers. We use Made in USA powder for our wheels to create beautiful and durable finishes.
Written by
Alec Whitten
Published on
17 January 2022

One of the biggest advantages of building a brand-new set of tailor-made forged wheels is that you can choose the wheel finish that you want. It’s like ordering a new car from a dealership where you can specify the car's exterior and interior color in exactly the way you want. 

When it comes to finishes on premium forged wheels, there are a lot more to choose from than generic color options (i.e. black, silver, bronze, gold etc.) seen on most of the off-the-shelf cast or flow-formed wheels. You may be confused about what are the different finishes can be done to a wheel? In this article, we’ll explain the finish options that are available from Forgelite Wheels and other manufacturers. We use Made in USA powder for our wheels to create beautiful and durable finishes.

To see all the color and finishes that we offer, please go to our Custom Finishes

Audi R8 with SV02 finished in Highland Bronze

Solidtone Color Finish

 Solid tone colors are single-stage finishes that come standard with our wheels. It is achieved by applying a layer of color powder coat and can be combined with a gloss or satin clear coat to achieve different gloss levels. This finish is durable and easy to maintain. We offer solid tone colors in gloss, satin, or textured depending on the selected finish.

[ Midnight Black ] It's a solid tone satin black color finish
[ Midnight Black ] This is a Solid Tone Satin Color Finish
[ Pearl Sparkle ] This is a Solid Tone Gloss Color Finish
[ Emeryboard Grey ] This is a solid tone textured finish

Polished Finish

This finish has a mirror-like fine polished surface in raw aluminum color. We apply a clear top coat to seal the aluminum so you don’t need to polish it to preserve the shine. This finish takes a combined machine and hand polishing to achieve its final substrate. The result is a stunning chrome-like wheel finish. A polished finish is a base substrate for transparent finishes and brushed finishes.

[ Mirror Polished ] Fine Polished Surface With a Clear Top Coat

Transparent/Translucent (Candy) Finish

Transparent finishes are achieved by applying a layer of colored transparent top coat to a polished aluminum base. It’s a multi-stage finish. The wheel gets polished first to have a reflective substrate, then the wheel goes through a series of cleaning and rinsing before receiving a top coat. The result is a beautiful candy finish which can be further enhanced with a glossy or satin clear coat.

[ Monaco Copper with Satin Clear ] Transparent Monaco Copper Base with Satin Clear Coat

Brushed Finish

Brushed finish refers to the brushed texture underneath a transparent color top coat. The brushed texture can be combined with transparent color top coats to create a very unique visual which reflects lights differently depending on which angle you are looking from. A brushed finish is a very labor-intensive process that requires an artisan hand brush for each spoke and the surface of the wheels. This process can take up to 8hrs per wheel depending on the wheel design complexity. However, this finish is the most popular upgrade for premium finishes as you can’t get it from off-the-shelf wheels.   

[ Brushed Caduceus Gold ] Brushed with Caduceus Gold Transparent Top Coat
[ Brushed Gloss Clear ] Brushed with Clear Top Coat on Wheel Centre
[ Brushed Gloss Clear With Polished Windows ] Two-tone finish with different finish on wheel face and windows
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