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4/2/2013 3:26:54 PM EDT

is there a down side to not anodizing a 80% lower. I plan to paint it with duracoat magpul fde.
4/2/2013 3:42:11 PM EDT
[#1]
I would not anodize if I were going to cerakote.  Anodizing puts a finished surface on the metal.  Being that cerakote is an applied finish rather than electoplating, I would imagine a rough finish where the compound would fill itself would be best
4/2/2013 4:06:29 PM EDT
[#2]
its the regular Duracoat not  cerakote
4/2/2013 5:30:25 PM EDT
[#3]
Anodizing provides a number of benefits, primarily:




Hard Surface




Wear resistance




some Lubricity




Corrosion Resistance/protection
Cerakote/Duracoat/Norrell's Moly Resin provide:




Improved Wear resistance




Improved Lubricity




Corrosion Resistance/protection


Expanded Color Selection









So, the main difference is the hard surface provided by the anodization. It doesn't add strength to the aluminum, but makes it resistant to rubs, scrapes, abrasion and denting. Although applied coatings provide varying levels of protection against rubs, scrapes and abrasion, they don't provide much protect against dings and dents. To me, the ideal solution is to cerakote/duracoat/molycoat over anodization. Then you get the benefits of both.  Personally, I used moly resin over the anodization and it works great, and I would expect the that cerakote/duracoat would yield similar results.



That being said, I do have a few that I used the Moly Resin alone, with no anodization. It works fine, but the coating is more susceptible to scratching and impact damage, but if you aren't worried about the looks, then using the coatings alone aren't a problem. It's also cheaper if you don't have to worry about anodization.

4/3/2013 10:51:28 AM EDT
[#4]
Being the hammer pins rotate on the aluminum lower..it might be a good idea to anodize it.
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