I'm leaning toward black for everything, fuel line fittings, throttle body etc... and probably going to either have some of the brackets painted or powdercoated.

 

I'm going with Black Anodizing my self for most of the new parts. I'm thinking about anodizing my Billet wheels also.

 

Black goes w/. everything. So does satin silver.
When doin different colors than those, u start to personalize to your liking, which is fine. But if ever those same "personalized color" parts are sold, it changes your potential buyers.

 

you guys know I work at an anodizing plant ehh?

Keep in mind castings look like *** anodized. Parts like fittings are wrought and look good IF you can separate them. You must have only aluminum so if there are any stainless clips, inserts, rings, etc you can't get them coated.

Black is pretty easy to match, and looks uniform.

 

Black is commonly sold on fittings already so there wont be any custom coatings etc... the brackets will be either p/c or painted... no anodizing cast Bill... I know

The throttle body will come black anodized from accufab for no extra charge so no problem there either. When I dig deep enough in the pockets for an electric water pump, it'll be black too engine covers and suck will probably be p/c black as well.

 

Saw some clear anodized stuff tonight at the track and it looked niiiice....

 

So what is the cost difference between anodizing and powder coating? Can you anodize something that is cast if it has a machined surface? How do threads take to anodizing? For example, if I had a billet something with threads cut in it to screw a fitting into, would the threads be a problem? Also, same question for powdercoating, can you do threads?

 

Not sure about powder costs but probably close to same.
Yes, machined cast parts look 'decent' but never as good as wrought because of the silica content and porosity.
Anodize has a dimensional build, not too much for regular type II but Hard ano, type III you'd want to mask threads.
Powder coating you would need to mask all threads.

 

Sounds like you might have done some of this **** before Bill

Would the clear ano be protective at all? From chemicals, dings/scratches? What's the actual process like?

 

Some people consider me an 'expert' in the field (NASA, Homeland Security, Aerospace, Defense) lol, it's humorous to me, I get calls from some very important and educated agencies. I have my hands on parts going to Mars, and in the 'field' in hands of some very talented people yet I am relatively uneducated (on paper).

To answer your question, yes. Clear, black, gold, green, all anodize offers corrosion and scratch resistance. Hard anodize is superior for wear resistance but doesn't color (black is fine) well.

The process of Anodizing is very simple but the physics are complex. Basically aluminum is placed in a tank full of water and H2SO4 (Sulfuric Acid). A positive charge is placed on the parts making them 'ANODIC" and a negative charge on plates (Cathodes) line the tank wall. Current is causing a reaction with the aluminum as it dissolves in the sulfuric causing a structured aluminum oxide to form that we call Anodize.