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-----Worn finish on anodized condominium railings
Q. I live in a condo which has a black exterior railing on all the balconies on which the finish has partially worn off. It appears as if the railing was anodized. Is this typical of anodized aluminum? if so, what can be done to correct.
Leon StoneTampa, Florida, USA
2004
A. Anodizing is a very hard and wear resistant finish, but it is possible that the anodizing wasn't thick enough (if the wear is in selected spots), or that the black dye wasn't resistant to the sun (if the 'wear' is fairly uniform and may be fading rather than actual wear).
The railing would need to be removed and re-anodized. Most architectural aluminum is bronze, rather than black, because the inorganic dyes for bronze are more stable than black dyes, which are organic.
Ted Mooney, P.E.
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