OK I just got off the phone with "Christina" from Henkel who called me back this morning. I explained the question and in short... what happens if Alodine 1201 is used on magnesium alloy wheels or if the Alodine magnesium treatment Henkel offers was used on aluminum...
The short answer is that they don't really have any data to say one way or another if there would be any problem. Christina said if there was a problem it would show up long term - not an immediate reaction. She surmised that most probably you simply aren't getting the intended level of corrosion resistance by using the wrong product on the wrong metal but she didn't think or have data to say that such a mis-match would cause any problems per-se.
Christina said the Alodine for magnesium does not contain any chrome whereas the Alodine for aluminum (1201) does contain chrome. The metallurgy is different and the chrome isn't needed for the magnesium. I did a quick Google search for "magnesium and chrome" and the results show many companies offering and process for chrome plating of magnesium. So as it turns out I can't imagine that using Alodine 1201 on magnesium (or the mag product on aluminum) would actually cause a problem other than the intended benefit (or full benefit) may not be there.
I also asked about coloration and not getting the expected golden color. Christina said that they see different colors and variation from time to time and that can be due to a number of factors ranging from: the Alodine product reacting with solvents that were used to clean the metal; to, the Alodine product being old and beyond it's prime.
At any rate I am going to call the paint shop that painted my gear parts a year back and find out what they did on my main wheels. I ass-u-me they used Alodine 1201 on them because I recall (as posted earlier) that they believed them to be aluminum and they made a fuss about the nose wheel being magnesium. At this point I think it's more informational because even if they did 1201 the magnesium main wheels I don't have the impression it's a big deal. Worst case the Imron paint may not bond as well as it otherwise would but after a year I don't have some much as a chip of paint missing from the main wheels.
So to summarize... Kristin is correct the wheels (ALL of them) are magnesium. Henkel makes different treatment products for aluminum vs magnesium under the "Alodine" brand name and if using Alodine on metal make sure you use the right product for the right metal to get the desired result. Alodine helps prepare a metal surface by giving paint a better surface to adhere to and it helps prevent corrosion (oxidation) but do not drink the Alodine, it is not an anti-oxidant for you
. There are no known ill effects of using the wrong version of Alodine on the wrong metal (magnesium / aluminum) vs what it was intended for but the benefits may not be realized.- Charles
