phambam

I noticed there are tons of wheel manufactures that utilize these common words under their description but can someone explain the differences? Thanks!

Mirrored -
Polished -
Brushed -
Matte -
Forged -

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

Mirrored, Polished, Brushed (look about the same and you forgot machined)

Matte (flat color the opposite of the above)

Forged (shapping a rim the old way, cost more, yield less weight, are hella sexy and are stronger than cast)

ballinfizzle89

iTrader: (6)

Yeah but I think brushed and machined have a more similar shiney but a little bit duller look then Mirrored and polished which is chromey

Matte is straight dull color

Forged/cast All I know..apparently like my man still said..forged is better/expensive

amadeus303

iTrader: (2)

Think of mirrored and polished as "like chrome". Brushed is just that... imagine if the metal finish was paint, and someone "brushed" it onto the wheel. Machined is very similar, but has a higher gloss, whereas brushed is a little more dull. A matte finish is flat --- think eggshell if you've ever had to paint the walls in your house/room.

Forged wheels are made using heat and pressure to shape a solid block of alloy into the shape of the wheel. Less material is needed to forge a wheel; that's why their lighter. Forged wheels are also generally much stronger than cast wheels because their "state" is never truly changed.

Cast wheels, on the other hand, use molten alloy (think "melted") and molds to form the wheel. There's 2 types --- gravity casting and low pressure/negative casting. In gravity casting, the molten alloy is poured into the mold and allowed to cool. In low pressure or negative casting, a high-pressure vacuum is used to draw up the alloy into the mould. Low pressure casting is the better process vs. gravity casting because it eliminates most of the air trapped in the molten alloy, which results in a stronger wheel. RonJon's cast wheels use low pressure casting.

Hope that helps...

rondog

iTrader: (1)

I deal with suppliers and customers all day long, let me explain:

Mirrored - could be either chrome plated, but more likely Mirror Machined where a diamond tipped bit is used to machined the face or lip of the wheel and is sometimes double passed for even more brilliance, probably has a 90% reflective rate where chrome has a 100% reflective rate. Almost always has clearcoat.
Here is a mirror Machined Lip on the Legend Type II:


Mirror Machined Face with Gun-Metal accents:


Polished - Polished is straight up buffed to a chrome like finish, I'd say 95% reflective, but definietly needs alot of care and followup to keep it from oxidizing and fogging up from normal road conditions and/or hard water stains. If you don't mind polishing, this is the finish to get, but for the rest of us, I'll take the clearcoated mirror-machined above. Can be powdercoat clear coated, but any coating on top of a polished surface is prone to peeling. imagine painting a smooth ass surface, it really difficult. Notice how polished wheels have a brighter look than chrome...



Brushed - This is a nice finish, its usually reserved for Forged or multipiece wheels. Its basically a polished wheel with a rough rouge pad, then a sort of brillo or fine sandpaper is used to embed tiny little scratches all the way thru the wheel surface. Looks a little raw and inconsitent, but has a nice antique look to it.



Matte - Most likely refered to as a paint, which has no real gloss almost like a semigloss or a wet chalkboard. Looks nice a as racing application, or when used to compliment a chrome lip.

Forged - Not sure if this is a paint, but i would venture to say its totally fabricated for marketing purposes. Privat has that kind of finish name, its just a paint with a machined face to resemble the process of lathing the profile of the wheel when the wheel is built.

chill_dog

Brushed is usually the most expensive finish, but the look is well worth it...the way it looks when the light hits it is .

phambam

Thanks for breaking it down bro. That helps a lot


Rondog: Thanks for the visuals.

phambam

I'm curious, how come 2 piece/ 3 piece rims are more expensive than say 1 piece rims. I'm assuming the one piece would be stronger since it's made from the same block of alloy.

rondog

iTrader: (1)

labor involved in assembling the higher value parts on 3 piece is more, and the 2 piece most of the time has to be welded, so that cost more. The single piece cast wheel is not made from a black, but rather melted metal poured into a mold. So its alot quicker and cheaper to maek them. Quality depends on the wheel, not really the process. i've seen some single piece cast wheels that have better quality than the 3 piece expensive stuff.

FiveLiterCheater

Here are my 2-Piece wheels with a brilliant silver center and a polished lip