Shannon @ Aug 22 2005, 08:47 PM wrote: Yeah, I made the post ! Forgot to sign in ! My Bad ? Painting Semi-Permanent ? Huh ? Come on, Dales dad painted his wings. Read "Memories" on the Lazair Force site by C. Kramer.
Well, Shannon, I guess you is!
Compared to Anodizing, I would consider paint semi-permanent. Paint can chip/flak off, especially if surface preparation isn't good, and if a good priming job wasn't done. Corrosion can start and spread under paint. Paint can just wear out in the sun/elements. Sure, if everything is done correctly, and you give it great care, paint can last a long, long time. I have nothing against painting a Lazair.
Anodizing, on the other hand, is a very hard, almost ceramic like finish obtained by using a chemical conversion process that actually penetrates into the surface of the aluminum. You can actually tell how deep by careful measurement, as the amount of penetration is usually about equal to the amount of material that builds up on the surface. It can be dyed colors. When you see old, faded anodized aluminum, it's the dye that's deteriorated, not the actual anodizing. The treated surface coating can get stained, and can be very hard to clean up. The only way I know to even remove the coating is to grind it off, but there may be a chemical process to do it. Anyway, IMHO, it's much more permanent than paint. I wasn't trying to say paint is no good, I was attempting to just compare polishing, painting, and anodizing, from an educational point of view.
BTW, if you plan to bend tubing, do it before it's anodized (same as with paint). Bending the tubing after anodizing will cause the surface to craze (lots of little surface cracks).
Chappy