Method of making corrosion resistant and glossy appearance coating for light metal workpiece

A magnesium metal wheel, comprising:

• a magnesium metal matrix having an exposed surface;
• a magnesium oxide ceramic layer formed on at least a portion of the exposed surface having a thickness of from about 5 μm to about 20 μm and an average pore size of from about 0.1 μm to about 5 μm;
• a first primer coating applied onto at least a portion of the magnesium oxide ceramic layer having a thickness of from about 50 μm to about 150 μm;
• a second primer coating applied onto at least a portion of the first primer coating the second primer coating having a thickness of from about 50 μm to about 150 μm;
• a sputtered metallic film deposited onto at least a portion of the second primer coating using a physical vapor deposition technique, the sputtered metallic film having a thickness of from about 5 nm to about 15 nm;
• and
• a clear coat layer applied onto at least a portion of the metallic film having a thickness of from about 20 μm to about 30 μm.

A method of providing an enhanced surface coating on a metal or alloy substrate, the method comprising:

• forming a corrosion resistance basecoat onto at least a portion of an exposed surface of a light metal or alloy substrate, including:
• generating an oxide layer on the exposed surface of the substrate by immersing the substrate in an electrolyte bath and resting the substrate on a supporting rack member, wherein the generating of the oxide layer comprises at least one of micro-arc oxidation process and a plasma electrolytic oxidation process and the supporting rack member is configured to serve as a conductive cathode during at least one of the micro-arc oxidation process or the plasma electrolytic oxidation process;
• and
• applying a first primer coating onto the oxide layer;
• forming a protective topcoat onto at least a portion of the basecoat, including:
• applying a second primer coating onto the first primer coating;
• depositing a sputtered metallic film onto the second primer coating using a physical vapor deposition technique;
• and
• applying a clear coat layer onto at least a portion of the sputtered metallic film.