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Need Coating/Paint that looks like Clear Anodized Aluminum

"Anodize look" paint

on eBay or

Amazon

(affil links)

RFQ: We use cast aluminum parts of mixed/unknown alloy aluminum. Our usual vendors have been unable to give them a good-looking anodized finish because of the impurities/porosity in the metal. We want them to look "frosty" like our other, machined parts which anodize quite well because they are alloy 606x.

So, I would like to send cast, unfinished sample parts, about 2" x 2", for some sort of plating/painting/anodizing process that closely matches the anodized treatment of the machined parts I will also send. It is an interior application. It can be a paint, a plating, or some combination, whatever works. Volumes up to 5K parts.

Cliff Hersh
Lighting OEM - Hayward, California, USA

Ed. note: Sorry, this RFQ is old & outdated, so contact info is no longer available. However, if you feel that something technical should be said in reply, please post it; no public commercial suggestions please ( huh? why?)

July 13, 2009

Q. I am interested in any response to this question as I too am looking for a paint or finish to approximate clear anodized aluminum on aluminum or steel.

Gretchen Zee
- Goleta, California usa
September 8, 2014

A. Hi Folks. Anodized coatings are transparent to translucent, so that's the look you are trying to get; that might be best approximated by adding a clearcoat after the "anodize-look" painting, but
VHT Anodized Color Coat [on eBay or Amazon] and
Dupli-color Metalcast [on eBay or Amazon]
offer paints intended to look like anodizing; you could experiment with them, and finish it off with a clear coat for further depth if preferred. Best of luck.

Regards,

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

A. C R Lawrence offers a paint that closely matches clear anodized aluminum: catalog number L4527QT, at www.crlaurence.com/~~crlapps/showline/offerpage.aspx?Productid=6693~~

J. Mager
- Los Angeles, California
September 16, 2014

Ed. note: Like most links, that one quickly broke :-(
But the overall website still exists if you want to hunt around for that anodized-look paint.

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