Anodized insight?

[theaveng]

It was suggested to me that I strip the paint off my car and anodize the surface of the aluminum body. Is that even possible?

[Eli]

I don't see why not, but it would be exceedingly difficult, and I'm not sure what you would do about the plastic body parts.

You'll need someone with a hell of an anodizing tank! The car would have to be stripped down to its bare chassis...

I'm not sure if anodizing is the best solution for the automotive environment anyway. It's certainly tough stuff, but it's brittle, especially in the event of large temperature swings.

It's also quite susceptible to alkaline and acid environments, so it probably wouldn't be pretty anymore after a few years in salt country.

[IamIan]

everything Eli said ... but it would save a few pounds , if you've already done lots of other weight saving ideas ... or if you just like the look of it ... there are some interesting color options for anodizing.

[Rawja]

Ummm to the best of my knowledge, anodizing aluminum requires the item to be electrically charged and submerged for a period of time in a vat of acid, kinda difficult to do with something the size of a car. Besides, you'd have no recourse should you get a scratch in the finish.

[GuySmily]

Thought this was an interesting read, especially the link that talks about hardcoat anodizing. At least you know they can handle the size - you could almost drive your whole car into their anodizing tank. 32 feet by 5 feet by 2.5 feet.
Anodize Aluminum: Hard Coat Aluminum Anodize, Clear and Color Anodizing, Custom Anodizing by Superior Metals Technologies - Indianapolis, Indiana (IN)

[Rush]

Sounds like a first rate idea. I'm sure the time, effort and dollars spent would well justify the savings....

[IamIan]

Originally Posted by Rawja

Ummm to the best of my knowledge, anodizing aluminum requires the item to be electrically charged and submerged for a period of time in a vat of acid, kinda difficult to do with something the size of a car. Besides, you'd have no recourse should you get a scratch in the finish.

Electrically charged yes ... the area to be anodized exposed the the chemical reactant yes ... and yes typically they do an entire object all at once ... but AFAIK that is not chemically required ... the part that is exposed would be the part that reacts ... the electrical current will travel from any one point to any other point through the aluminum shell.

Now the reason they usually do the whole part at once is for uniformity ... spot area or touch up anodizing can be extremely hard to try and match and blend in with the the rest.

Of course if that variation was desired or part of the anodizing design then it wouldn't matter.

Like others said its probably not cost effective for the few pounds you would save ... but it could work ... and it would be fairly unique if one wanted to do it.

[jonnyvtec]

The body will already have an e-coat thats appropriate for aluminium corrosion. The main issues on the insight are where fasteners interface anyway.

[Mark Elvin]

You'd probably be better of getting it Alocrom 1200 dipped, it's a far simpler & less costly process.

[Hybrid-Battery-Repair]

Originally Posted by theaveng

It was suggested to me that I strip the paint off my car and anodize the surface of the aluminum body. Is that even possible?

The front and rear bumpers, front fenders and rear skirts are all plastic. They won't anodize.