You may have heard the term physical vapor deposition, or “PVD” for short, and wondered what it is? Maybe you’re a car enthusiast and know that PVD exists, but you’re not sure what it looks like, what its durable properties are or if it’s right for your vehicle? Then again, you may not know about PVD at all…but if you love your car and are interested in making a beautiful impact on its appearance, then learning about this specialty product could make a world of difference in how your vehicle looks—and how you look at your vehicle.
First, let’s take a step back. Why are we at Wheel Craft excited about discussing something like PVD Chrome finishes? Well, our team is focused on one thing, and one thing only: Delivering the highest quality, most beautiful and most durable hand-crafted finishes for Corvette owners to achieve the chrome appearance they love with features and durability that surpass traditional chrome.
Wheel Craft’s proprietary, next-gen finishes are gorgeous in appearance and texture—and their advanced protective properties offer unrivaled durability to ensure beauty and performance for years to come.
Wheel Craft utilizes PVD as a finishing process by which the PVD metallic material is physically applied to the wheel. As a physical process (and not a chemical process), it’s inherently cleaner than chemical application.
PVD is not new; in fact, it’s been known about for more than a century. Today, PVD is a widely used vacuum coating process that boosts product durability and corrosion resistance. Products ranging from tools, blades, molds, dies and decorative pieces are all popular targets for PVD. From a technical standpoint, the PVD application process converts a solid material into microscopic, atomic particles that are deposited onto a part, and in our case, automotive wheels. This process takes place in a vacuum environment to ensure a clean, pure application of chromium. At Wheel Craft, we offer PVD chrome as a color option for our Black PVD Chrome, Bright PVD Chrome and Midnight PVD Chrome custom wheel finishes. While there are several ways to apply PVD (as referenced above), we utilize a surface application process called sputtering. This is an optimal process for materials being finished for appearance purposes.
So, what are the benefits of having PVD applied to your custom-finished luxury wheels? Well, again, PVD applied by leading providers such as Wheel Craft are harder and more corrosion-resistant than coatings applied through an alternative process known as electroplating. Additionally, PVD typically is more environmentally friendly than electroplating and traditional painting methods. And there’s more:
- The PVD process creates an inseparable bond with the alloy wheel to provide a more durable finish.
- PVD is easy to clean and only requires soap and water.
- PVD can be repaired. If you happen to scrape your wheel(s) on a curb, the professionals at Wheel Craft can strip the wheel back down, mitigate the cosmetic damage, and have your car looking showroom beautiful right away. This is impossible with traditional chrome.
- Wheel Craft offers a five-year warranty for our PVD finish.
Wheel Craft is excited to partner with NCM Motorsports Park to bring our advanced finishing capabilities to benefit Corvette owners that desire and appreciate the chrome appearance for their wheels. To learn more about the Wheel Craft process, follow this link to visit Wheel Craft’s “Our Process” page and take a virtual tour of the facility: Wheel Craft Process and Tour.
