Having rims ceramic coated

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Ltoddokc
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by Ltoddokc

I've seen a few threads about Ligero's ceramic coated kinlin rims and since they aren't currently available I'm wondering about the feasibility of having a local shop do a ceramic coating on a couple rims. They specialized in automobile engine part coatings so they have plenty of experience dealing with high heat applications. Does anyone have any opinions on this route? Btw, im not affaid to admit that this is purely for cosmetics, I just hate that shiny silver brake track but don't really want to gamble on Chinese carbon clinchers just yet.

Also, is there a reason why no one is powder coating rims? I don't know anything about powder coating other than its applied at 400 degrees so it seems like brake heat wouldn't be an issue. Would the friction from the brake pad wear through the coating?

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ergott
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by ergott

Ltoddokc wrote:Would the friction from the brake pad wear through the coating?


Yes.

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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

I would have reservations about doing this. First, there is the issue with having the wheel heated to 400 degrees for a long period of time (over an hour, depending on application). That may cause a degradation of the resin. I'm not a materials engineer, but it's something that should be looked into.

Secondly, is the issue of actual braking improvement. Ceramic coating of piston skirts and the like, are usually done to reduce friction (you coat the piston skirt to reduce friction on the piston walls, particularly on cold-start). If that's the case, I don't think you'd get any benefit by doing that to the wheel. Sure, you will prevent heat transfer to the rim (like coating an intake runner, or headers), but at the expense of braking ability.

Ltoddokc
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by Ltoddokc

Thanks ergott & fijigabe

davidalone
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by davidalone

dont think this is a good idea.

I am a mech engineer, and from my knowledge of materials, not all ceramics are created equal. when you hought of coating the brake track I assume you were thinking of ceramic brakes found on mountain bike rims? I believe those are specially formulated with the ceramic fibers embedded during manufacture.

as FijiGabe pointed out, most coatings of ceramics are actually done to reduce friction- in this case your shear force is not going to be very high, unlike in a brake situation. Ceramic coatings are also done in the medical device industry through plasma sputtering and other highly technology intensive techniques, but then again these are done to reduce friction.

FYI ceramic-metal bonding interface is not going to be very strong anyway. you're bonding an ionic compound to a metallic compound which is not going to be the strongest of bonds.

what I think you could do is try anodizing the rim surface. it would wear out over time, but that would take awhile. you'd need to find a manufacturer with a big enough anodizing tank to do it though.

HillRPete
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by HillRPete

Ceramic coating is possible, has been done, and works. There's obviously Mavic with their discontinued "Ceramic" rims, but more along the lines of what you're thinking of -- i.e. 3rd party coating -- Fuerte Bici was offering ceramic coating for carbon rims a while back. Check out http://www.fuertebici.com/news-post/ceramic-coating-now-available/. AFAIR the company that did the coating was Zircotec. If you believe them, Fuerte had to stop the program because of not being able to put through numbers that made it profitable for all parties involved.

If it's just for your personal use though, I would endorse davidalone's suggestion of anodized rims. I've heard encouraging reports of carbon pads preserving the ano layer: http://www.wheelsmith.co.uk/news/90-race23-long-term-test.

thisisatest
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by thisisatest

In an engine during cold start, they're not necessarily concerned with friction, but with wear.

davidalone
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by davidalone

that coating by zircoech looks pretty cool and novel... although the temperature they'd be spraying it on REALLY seems to me like it would damage the underlying CF. I'd like to see how thye do it.

Although, as earlier siad, this is probably not an ecnomically feasible option for just personal use.

jooo
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by jooo

Maybe ask http://www.ceramikoat.com/ if they've got anything suitable?

They also have facebook and crazy8 is a member on mtbr.com forums.

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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

thisisatest wrote:In an engine during cold start, they're not necessarily concerned with friction, but with wear.


yes. What causes the wear? Reduce friction, reduce wear.

HillRPete
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by HillRPete

Gabe, I don't think friction is a major concern for the brake-track application though. Polished aluminium doesn't have high friction (against polished aluminium, say), but it still makes a fine braking surface -- it's all in the pad.

davidalone
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by davidalone

most brake tracks are not polished. they are machined aluminium.

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FIJIGabe
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by FIJIGabe

i have never seen a polished aluminum brake track. From what I have seen, they are a machined aluminum.

HillRPete
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by HillRPete

Yeah most are machined, except probably for the anodized ones, which wouldn't look very nice otherwise.

In any case it's always the pad being responsible for the friction.

cajer
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by cajer

Did anyone find anymore information regarding this?

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