by Cre8ivdsgn » Tue Jan 08, 2013 12:50 pm
"Hardcoating" is a somewhat generic term for anodizing. Anodizing is a process where you take aluminum and run a current through it while dipping it in a tank filled with acid. This changes the surface of the aluminum into an aluminum oxide layer - something that I believe resembles a honeycomb. This layer is literally a ceramic layer and very tough and abrasion resistant. Some folks seem to forget that it is still supported by the underlying aluminum and with enough pressure and time, this hardcoat layer can break down. Hardcoating is wonderful and actually makes a good wear surface (especially with teflon), but steel wheels represent a point contact.
Still, I view things from the perspective of 24/7/365 where hardcoat and stainless steel v-wheels have... a limited life expectancy. For the home hobbyist hardcoat would work well enough with steel wheels and would outlast the life of a laser tube, for example (with reasonable adjustment - anything can break with the right forces!).
Hardcoating typically is done either in black or clear and the layer is about 0.002"-0.003" (50 to 75 microns) thick while standard anodizing is about 5 times thinner.