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Best aluminium for gloss black anodising?

Hey,

I am researching into the best materials to use to get a high gloss black anodised finish. The material would have to be in sheet form. I am told that 6463 is good for a high gloss finish but is this available in sheet form? other alloys I was looking at are 6060, 6106 and 5005. At the moment we use 5083. The finish has to be perfect and at the moment we are not happy with our results.

Chris Smith
Design Engineer - Dublin, Ireland
April 20, 2010

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April 20, 2010

Hi Chris,

Yes there is a sheet form of aluminium for high gloss anodising - 5657. Along with the extrudable alloy 6463 it was developed for car "bright trim" when cars had bumper bars, head-light bezels and other shiny aluminium parts. Ideally it should be chemically or electrolytically polished before anodising to get a really deep gloss. The sheet will normally been bright rolled but still need chemical treatment to get the best effect.

The main use today is probably in the manufacture of cosmetic container caps.

Harry

Harry Parkes
- Birmingham, UK