I have been considering anodizing my manifold products - 6082 tube and a 5000 grade waterjet plate (sorry cant remember off the top of my head) and 4043 filler rod.
I had a brief discussion with a local anodizing company regarding this but they were insistent that the welds would discolour.
So I had dismissed it as a non-starter but I recently did some work for a customer (some 3mm thick laser cut 6000 series covers) using the 4043 rods and they had them anodized afterward - I was fortunate to see the results yesterday and the welds looked just the same as the rest of it. Granted it was black - perhaps a colour such as red or blue causes more issues?
So whats the deal - I'm tempted just to send a sample off but just wondered if anyone on here could advise if its worth trying?
Also something to consider - the internal surfaces of the tube, I brush finish this with a pipe-cleaning type brush in a drill. Are there any adverse effects of fuel contact with anodizing?
I had a brief discussion with a local anodizing company regarding this but they were insistent that the welds would discolour.
So I had dismissed it as a non-starter but I recently did some work for a customer (some 3mm thick laser cut 6000 series covers) using the 4043 rods and they had them anodized afterward - I was fortunate to see the results yesterday and the welds looked just the same as the rest of it. Granted it was black - perhaps a colour such as red or blue causes more issues?
So whats the deal - I'm tempted just to send a sample off but just wondered if anyone on here could advise if its worth trying?
Also something to consider - the internal surfaces of the tube, I brush finish this with a pipe-cleaning type brush in a drill. Are there any adverse effects of fuel contact with anodizing?
