Painting Aluminum question

[martinciarpella]

Got a set of anodized black aluminum outriggers that are faded badly, what is the best paint product to use to return it back to nice and black.......Thanks in advance gentlemen.

[CamB25]

If they are indeed anodized, then I recommend stripping/etching then have them powder coated black. But...I don't recall if powder coating is complatible with a anodized surface. We had a similar fading problem with aluminum window frames on railcars. No issues since we switched to powder coating the frames, but I think we had to scrap the anodized versions. Might have been an economic decision rather than a technical problem with the anodized surface.

[CaptPatrick]

Martin,

Painting aluminum outriggers, at least in my opinion, would be a disaster.

First, you'd have to paint everything fully assembled because once painted the tubes will have changed dimension due to the paint film. Add to that you'd make the riggers heavier and maybe put more strain on the stay wires then they could stand under a live load.

The cost of epoxy primer,linear polyester paint, and the specialized prep to asure a reasonable service life of paint over aluminum would probably be as, if not more, expensive, than just having them re-anodized... There's maybe more anodizing companies around your area, but at least check with Eastern Plating in Baltimore.

[martinciarpella]

Thanks Capt, as always a great advice with multiple examples....We did get them on a steal and would have liked to have kept that way with doing all the work ourselves ( as always) but anodizing might be the best solution for near perfect results.......Thanks as always.