Annodizing and chroming

[tunnelrunner]

Does anyone here know anything about annodizing and its properties?

With a new engine in the offing, I'm thinking it would be an ideal time to have as much of my alloy stuff plated as I can. I know there are different colours available etc, but I'm wondering how annodizing stands up to scratching/scuffing and general wear and tear.

Someone mentioned "hard" annodizing to me, what is this?

Cheers
Tony

[lebel409]

Hard annodizing is a aluminum oxide coating...very tough for .0001"

Color and clear annodizing are just a surface chemical reaction...withor without color. Almost all the colors fade, darker ones worse than the lighter...

Plating over aluminum doesn't work that well.

Powdercoating is an option also, but adds to the dimension of the part.

All of these will get goofed up with repeated taking apart.

If you keep it garaged the annodizing will last for quite a while. The powdercoat may peel eventually.

I just polished mine...again and again...

[tunnelrunner]

Thanks Lebel... like most of the boats here, I have a ton of polished alloy parts, lots of em like rudder assemblies and steering pulley brackets are bloody hard to get to which makes polishing a chore... maybe annodizing is an option for the stuff thats out of harms way most of the time.

[RiverRacer]

Make sure you specify "hard" anno or it will fade in no time at all!. I had this one done in 91 and this pic is from 2 years ago and it's still decent, you can see a difference when you see any part that wasen't exposed to the sun, but all in all it still looks decent!. Granted It was stored in the garage but at the river it was out in the sun, and the first five years it was out every other weekend plus a few races!. I was thinking of stripping it down and getting it redone, but I got a brain fart and went and gave it away, oh well!..:rolleyes:

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2792/myboatif8.jpg

[tunnelrunner]

Certainly a goooood looking ride there Art.... you must regret selling it every day!;)

But seriously, is it only alloy that can be annodized?

[RiverRacer]

Certainly a goooood looking ride there Art.... you must regret selling it every day!;)

But seriously, is it only alloy that can be annodized?

Thank you and yes I do now, LOL.... Yes only aluminum can be anodized, and also different alloys will have a different shade of color!..

[tunnelrunner]

Cool! Thanks. I'll take myself down to a plating shop and get some quotes

[RiverRacer]

Cool! Thanks. I'll take myself down to a plating shop and get some quotes

Another tip, when you make parts that go side by side make sure you make them out of the same piece of stock, otherwise it could end up with a different shade even if it's the same alloy, for some reason batches are not all the same!... Oh, and the more you have the cheaper it is to get done!..

[rivergames]

Ya and just when you think that you have every part on the boat anodized or polished, god dangit there is usually 1, 2, 3 more trips you have to make. thats when it starts adding up and messing with your head:D

[dry]

Make sure you specify "hard" anno or it will fade in no time at all!. I had this one done in 91 and this pic is from 2 years ago and it's still decent, you can see a difference when you see any part that wasen't exposed to the sun, but all in all it still looks decent!. Granted It was stored in the garage but at the river it was out in the sun, and the first five years it was out every other weekend plus a few races!. I was thinking of stripping it down and getting it redone, but I got a brain fart and went and gave it away, oh well!..:rolleyes:

http://img236.imageshack.us/img236/2792/myboatif8.jpg

Yes that is a really pretty boat, Very Nice I like the Purple!:)

[RiverRacer]

Ya and just when you think that you have every part on the boat anodized or polished, god dangit there is usually 1, 2, 3 more trips you have to make. thats when it starts adding up and messing with your head:D

Yep before you get any anno done it has to be in complete running condition ready to launch, in fact it's a good idea to run it first that way you can make any changes that you might want to do, then when you're satisfied with it then you tear it all down and send the stuff in for polish and anno!..

[FC-Pilot]

Yep before you get any anno done it has to be in complete running condition ready to launch, in fact it's a good idea to run it first that way you can make any changes that you might want to do, then when you're satisfied with it then you tear it all down and send the stuff in for polish and anno!..

Wow, that is the first time I have heard anyone say that. Now we don't look so foolish.:D

Paul

[RiverRacer]

Can't see doing it any other way myself!..

[hydroguy]

Yep RR is correct, just like building a rod or a bike. Get it all togeather and then tear it down and do the anno or polish. :eek:

[FC-Pilot]

I have seen build ups where everything was anodized and plated before ever testing the boat or car. Then again they were usually standard setups. We told a few people that we were going to test before we cleaned our boat up and they thought we were crazy.

Paul

[RiverRacer]

Yep RR is correct, just like building a rod or a bike. Get it all togeather and then tear it down and do the anno or polish. :eek:

The thing about anno is that they have a minimum charge, like one piece or 10 coats the same so the more you get done the cheaper it is. The other thing is the finished product in your mind very seldom matches the actual finished product, and you find out later that things needed to be changed or added. Also if you add something later, there is no guarantee that it will come out the exact same shade, everything should be done in the same batch!..