Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
The authoritative public forum
for Metal Finishing since 1989
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How to seal a cast aluminum part, for outdoor use
Q. I have a cast aluminum piece that I want to seal. What kind of paint/procedure will be the most durable against moisture and abrasion?
Lisa Hurtado- San Francisco, California, USA
Q. Was wondering how you would go about sealing aluminum from exposure and fading etc for outside uses.
Brian Wimbish- Farmington, New Mexico, USA
A. Lisa: hard coat anodizing is an extremely abrasion-resistant finish.
Brian: two-step / integral color anodizing won't fade; an alternative is Kynar powder coatings.
Unfortunately these questions are a bit abstract and tough to answer. We don't know if you are an architect trying to fix an existing skyscraper, an OEM planning a process for millions of parts, or a consumer with one piece of yard art. And there are so many potential finishes :-)
Please do your best to describe your situation. Thanks!
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
Q. I have an old Hobart meat saw made of cast aluminum how can I seal it to be safe to cut meat.
dave law- Ringling oklahoma u.s.a.
April 19, 2012
by S. Kawai
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A. Hi Dave.
Aluminum is a food-safe surface. Whatever paint or coating you could apply probably isn't.
The blade could be anodized, which is probably the best answer, but anodizing is not a casual D-I-Y process like painting. I'm not saying you can't anodize at home (some hobbyists do) but most people would consider it a project to send away to an anodizing shop. Good luck.
Regards,
Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey
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