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Finish for aluminum - hardcoat Type 3 - Class 1 anodize

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 1:09 am
by squaab99t
I've has made some parts from aluminum and had a variety of finishes. Powder coat, clear lacquer, spray bomb, bare satin scotchbrite, and buff wheel polished. The powder coat seemed the best, but it some times chips.
Kevin and I decided to gang our stuff together and do a single batch job at a local finisher. Type 3 anodize aka hardcoat which has no dye added to it and naturally turns an olive gray in most alloys. 6061 and 5052 seemed to take pretty well with consistent color coverage. The consistent color is nice, but the real advantage is corrosion protection and the finish thickness. We spec 2 mil thickness.
Here are some parts finished.
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Tubing
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Sheet metal
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Skid plate
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As you can see the welds will take on a different color because of the different filler rod and A/C cleaning action. The color will not fade from UV because there is no dye. Very good chemical resistance for engine compartment environment.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 11:02 am
by jdwertz
I like it! I spent a significant amount of money getting things powder and ceramic coated when I redid my engine bay and suspension. Some already started to deteriorate.

Looks like a great alternative for aluminum.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 6:52 pm
by DrewP
Cool!

Were you using 4043 filler for the welded parts? 5356 doesn't discolor hardly at all if you plan to anodize welded parts, and takes dye almost exactly the same as 6061 for colored type II parts.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Thu Jan 28, 2016 10:29 pm
by squaab99t
DrewP wrote:Cool!

Were you using 4043 filler for the welded parts? 5356 doesn't discolor hardly at all if you plan to anodize welded parts, and takes dye almost exactly the same as 6061 for colored type II parts.


I'm sure I used 4043 since that is all I have in the shop. Not sure what Luke used for the shifter tower. This was his first version.
The pillow block was stripped of its type II and redone in type III. All organic dyes in type II will eventually fade from UV and you will be "left" with the clear anodize.

Now it is not all roses. The cam cover did not perform well at all. Very light gray since the thickness is only 1/10 of what the other parts did. They tried repeatively, but no joy. Kevin had some plumbing AN fitting that did not take either. The parts came from a certain manufcturer, where another the parts anodized great. Finisher said they seen it before and guess it has too much of a certain alloy.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:57 am
by sjones
Dennis, are you going to have more work done at performance coatings? I was hoping to get that 99 exhaust manifold done

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 1:05 pm
by Mezzanine
squaab99t wrote:
DrewP wrote:Cool!

The cam cover did not perform well at all.


What part is this? Your valve cover? Or one of Kevin's parts?
I was thinking about doing the valve cover for my engine...

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 3:08 pm
by squaab99t
Mezzanine wrote:
squaab99t wrote:
DrewP wrote:Cool!

The cam cover did not perform well at all.


What part is this? Your valve cover? Or one of Kevin's parts?
I was thinking about doing the valve cover for my engine...

Both of us had some parts that did not make the grade.
Snap shot of Kevin's
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Bummer as I was looking forward to doing this to more covers.
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It is rather pale compared to the cps hub with the correct thickness.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 12:52 am
by squaab99t
sjones wrote:Dennis, are you going to have more work done at performance coatings? I was hoping to get that 99 exhaust manifold done

Nothing on the near term horizon. Just give them a call and run the part down to them. We did not get much of a discount with all the parts we brought. It is not like you rack all the parts that can fit on a stand and do a single batch job. Each part is media blasted, painted and baked individually.
You going to be at the Swedish cruise in? Feb 14.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2016 2:05 am
by sjones
squaab99t wrote:You going to be at the Swedish cruise in? Feb 14.


Definitely! The car is running great these days but still a few bits left to get done.

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 4:44 pm
by Mezzanine
squaab99t wrote:

Both of us had some parts that did not make the grade.
Snap shot of Kevin's
image.png

Bummer as I was looking forward to doing this to more covers.
image.jpeg

It is rather pale compared to the cps hub with the correct thickness.



I'd still rock that. Maybe it looks worse in person, but that photo doesn't look too bad. I can see that it doesn't match the other parts, and it looks a little blotchy in places, but again, I'm not sure that bothers me.
I wonder if one of the newer castings might take better?

Re: Finish for aluminum - hard coat Type III anodize

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 6:10 pm
by squaab99t
Mezzanine wrote:
squaab99t wrote:

Both of us had some parts that did not make the grade.
Snap shot of Kevin's
image.png

Bummer as I was looking forward to doing this to more covers.
image.jpeg

It is rather pale compared to the cps hub with the correct thickness.



I'd still rock that. Maybe it looks worse in person, but that photo doesn't look too bad. I can see that it doesn't match the other parts, and it looks a little blotchy in places, but again, I'm not sure that bothers me.
I wonder if one of the newer castings might take better?

One way to find out if the new castings are any better.