Vehicle: Car: Paint
Anodized 'paint' job   (+1)  [vote for, against]
Don't paint, anodize.

Reasonably self-explanitory. Strikes a nice balance between metallic paint and pure metal finishes Clear coat it and should last like any other paint job.
-- phoenix, Apr 04 2003

Small scale anodization explained. http://www.lapidary...al.com/jj/999jj.cfm
04 Apr 03 | "Anodizing most closely resembles standard electroplating." [bristolz, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Some background on anodizing. http://www.qualitya...ing.ca/overview.htm
[phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Anodized underwater cameras http://www.chinooks...com/dive_camera.htm
[phoenix, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Great little annodizing shop. http://www.eastwestdye.com/
Will accept 'one off' orders. [ty6, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

(?) Metal Cast http://www.duplicol...ucts/metalcast.html
[Krylon] [Letsbuildafort, Oct 04 2004, last modified Oct 21 2004]

"explanatory"
-- DrCurry, Apr 04 2003


The Chevy Anode.
-- bristolz, Apr 04 2003


You could cook dinner on the hood after a long trip with easy cleanup.
-- kevindimie, Apr 04 2003


Explain the ex-planets [DrCurry].
Sorry, I was in a hurry.
-- phoenix, Apr 04 2003


can you not work out why they dont do it? Claws
-- Claws, May 16 2003


Think bright sunshine and glare - eyes hurting, can't see - oh no, screeeech!! crash, ouch - damned mirror-on-wheels!

I,d prefer a fully chromed vehicle - if you're gonna do a job, do it properly!!! :o)
-- WelshGuy, Jan 16 2004


Can you anodize steel? I've only anodized aluminum. Making a car out of aluminum is much more expensive than steel.
-- GenYus, Jan 16 2004


I think GenYus is right, you can't anodize Steel, all you'd get is a big pile of rust.

You can galvanize it but not anodize it.
-- SystemAdmin, Jan 16 2004


A galvanized car would be horrible looking.
-- GenYus, Jan 16 2004


Wait a minute, I've seen steel nuts and bolts which at least claimed to be anodized. They got a gold color on the surface as a result. Definitely not painted, but possibly plated instead. Or maybe steel really can be anodized.

At any rate, I think that uniform metallic yellow on every car would make for a very boring driving experience. <Ford salesman>"Sure it comes in any color you like as long as it's black."</Ford salesman>
-- BigBrother, Jan 16 2004


Anodizing, at least what I've seen, is a fairly weak surface protector. I'm thinking of all the aluminum anodized parts on my bike I had as a kid, and the anodizing wore off just with the rubbing of my leg against the crank, for example. Same with whatever that plating is on bolts. Not very tough, seems to me. Also, parts I've had anodized cost a relative fortune. I don't know if it could even be done on something as large as autobody parts, even if they were aluminum.
-- oxen crossing, Jan 16 2004


the first thing that popped up in my mind is the anodized type of look that heat treated tool steel has. Kind of a gold color anodized look.
-- dickity, Jan 16 2004


Powder coat or ceramic coat it instead. The key then would not be how good it looks but how much more durable it is then a normal paint job. I'm sure its been done before in the after-market, though.
-- toiyabe, Jan 16 2004


Gets my vote, on the assumption that Type III MIL-Spec hard anodizing is available. That would solve the problems of "mirror finish" glare and lovebug gut corrosion.
-- Guncrazy, Jan 16 2004


Baked by Krylon, but its paint that gives metal an anodized finish. See link - its really some cool stuff ...
-- Letsbuildafort, Jan 17 2004



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