Now in full operation, ProFinish will refinish all steel wheel makes with Accuride’s advanced Steel Armor coating that delivers best-in-class corrosion protection and carries a 12-month warranty against rust damage. Accuride says it is the first commercial vehicle wheel manufacturer to refinish wheels for the aftermarket using the same advanced system used to apply its original-equipment wheel coating.
“Accuride launched ProFinish in response to the concerns fleet and aftermarket customers had with the coating quality and durability of their refinished wheels,” says Scott Hazlett, president of Accuride Wheels. “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.”
Accuride says the wheel coating process is critical to ensuring the correct paint thickness on the mounting surfaces of wheels. There is a well-defined correlation between wheel nut torque loss and excessive paint thickness. Accuride says the ProFinish process achieves consistent filiform coating thickness under the 3.5 mils required by OEM standards.
Accuride Wheel End Solutions will warranty ProFinish steel wheels to be free of rust damage for 12 months from the date of refinishing indicated on the wheel, and adds that 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. The company also says customers should contact their Accuride sales representative for program and ordering process details.
The new 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 says.
