Anybody had experience with clear anodizing?

[John McGraw]

I am grinding and polishing the C4 suspension peices for my 59 resto-mod and I'm considering several processes to keep me from constantly having to polish the parts. I have considered Clear powder-coating, and clear ureathane, but someone suggested that I also consider clear anodizing the components. My guess is that the anodized surface will give up some of the mirror bright finish that the parts have now, but would be willing to give some shine for a real durable finish. Anyone have experience with anodizing polished aluminum parts? Thanks. :seeya

[Doc Rebuild]

John,

Anodizing is a clear protective plating finish to prevent Aluminum oxidation. It also imparts a slight surface harness to Aluminum. It is also a decorative finish placed on top of another plating finish that can color the Aluminum. If you want the Aluminum to shine silvery – ask for a Silvery Bright Dip finish. This would be similar to the finish on 1961-1982 door sill plates or 1963 shifter consoles or 1963-1964 grills.

If you want the parts to look like the Black hand grip levers on many modern motorcycles ask for the Black finish. It makes Aluminum parts resemble shiny Black plastic. This is the finish on 1965 grills. You can have a Blue, Red, Yellow finish applied under the Anodize.

Geoffrey Coenen
NCRS #2473
NCM Lifetime #105
Precision Valley Corvette Museum Charter Member #20 (I think)
Vettehead #18-1
Retired #1 56, 63, 67, 68, 68, 69, 75, 99 and I want more! :D

[paintdaddy]

just wanted to add my 2 cents.I wouldnt use automotive urethane clear.My thoughts are that urethane clear is just paint without pigment.If all paint needs a primer to stick to metal,why wouldnt clear?I think thats why all of the c4 wheels are peeling.Eastwood makes a clear that they claim is formulated to stick to bare metal but I dont even know how well it will work seeing that it comes out of a spray can :rolleyes: I would vote for the powder coat.

[JohnZ]

I made the cluster for my Grand Sport out of aluminum and had it brush-finished and clear-anodized (so it wouldn't oxidize and get dull), and it worked out great; however, anodizing isn't a very durable finish, and I don't know how well it would stand up in a suspension application where it's exposed to the elements. I think powder-coating would be a better long-term bet for that application, although I had C4 suspension and brakes under the Grand Sport that I had bead-blasted and clear-coated, and it held up very nicely and was easy to keep clean.

:steering:

[John McGraw]

Thanks Geoffrey, Mark and John,
That was my main concern, whether the anodize was durable enough to survive under a car, I know that GM anodized all their aluminum trim, but am still unsure that this would be the way to go for a suspension peice. This car is going to be a driver, and I don't want to be polishing on the suspension every time I turn around. I will probably take a known route and clear powder-coat the parts.

Regards, John McGraw
:seeya