[Healeys] Finish for Aluminum Cockpit Surround

[Jean Caron]

Harold,
First of all you indicate that the original anodizing has been stripped, how was this done? Was it done chemically? If it was simply sanded there would still be remnant of the anodizing in the aluminium.
As someone else said re anodizing would very likely be the best solution, but it is expensive, or was. The place in Ontario that used to do it, has closed down and they did a fantastic job but about 8 years ago cost around $900. Cdn for the cockpit surround on my BN6.
If you had work done  on your cockpit surround pieces, like welding to fill damaged area, unless you used a rod #5356 with TIG welding, the anodizing will show up in dark grey where the welding was done and it will look awful.
I think from the suggestions you received here, the powder coating and the metal polishing paste suggested by Ray Juncal may be your best bet.

Jean







From: Harold Manifold<mailto:manifold at telus.net>
Sent: November 4, 2022 8:00 PM
To: Healey List<mailto:healeys at autox.team.net>
Subject: [Healeys] Finish for Aluminum Cockpit Surround

Hello,

What is the recommended finish for the aluminum cockpit surround? The original anodizing wasn't in good shape and has been stripped and the aluminum has lots of scratches and nicks from over the years. These are the finishes I was considering:
Bare polished aluminum
Re-anodizing
Powder coating the same colour as anodizing

I was leaning towards powder coating as it may be the best at hiding nicks and scratches.

Thanks... Harold


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