Accuride has introduced the ProFinish steel wheel refinishing service for the North American commercial vehicle market. Now in full operation, ProFinish will refinish all steel wheel makes with Accuride’s Steel Armor coating that protects the wheel from corrosion and comes with a 12-month warranty against rust damage.

The wheel-coating process is critical to ensuring the correct paint thickness on the mounting surfaces of wheels because of a correlation between wheel nut torque loss and excessive paint thickness, according to Accuride.

The ProFinish process achieves consistent filiform coating thickness under the 3.5 mils required by OEM standards, said Accuride. The wheel-refinishing service operates at the company’s Henderson, Ky., steel wheel production facility using the same coating line that applies the Steel Armor powder coating to its original-equipment wheels.

The company said there is demand from large fleets for a standardized wheel refinishing process that is more consistent.  

“Accuride launched ProFinish in response to the concerns fleet and aftermarket customers had with the coating quality and durability of their refinished wheels,” said Scott Hazlett, Accuride Wheels president. “ProFinish gives them the advanced corrosion protection of Steel Armor coating on their refinished steel wheels.  Our ProFinish refinished wheels will stand up to the toughest road environments in North America and deliver a level of quality and performance other wheel refinishers simply can’t match.” 

The ProFinish refinishing process begins with a quality inspection to weed out wheels containing cracks and other flaws that compromise structural integrity.  The wheels then undergo a shot-media blast that removes all the paint, regardless of coating type. 

The clean wheels then undergo Accuride’s proprietary three-phase Steel Armor coating process:

• Zinc Phosphate – The process begins with the application of tri-metal zinc phosphate to prepare the metal for maximum adhesion.

• Epoxy E-coat – Next, Accuride applies its proprietary formula cathodic epoxy electrocoat (e-coat), optimized for sharp-edge and overall corrosion protection.

• Powder Coat – The final step is an application of premium powder coat, formulated exclusively for Accuride to meet the tough demands of the heavy truck environment.

Most wheels of the following sizes are eligible for ProFinish refinishing: 19.5 x 7.50, 22.5 x 7.50, 22.5 x 8.25, 22.5 x 9.00 and 24.5 x 8.25. 

Customers should contact their Accuride sales representative for program and ordering process details.