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Protection for piece with Steel and Aluminum

Hello,

I am part of a Formula SAE team, it is a student built racing car project. All critical aluminum parts on the car are black anodized.

We have an existing part in 2024-T3 aluminum part that we wish to reuse and have finish to obtain a black color and basic corrosion resistance like the anodized ones. The problem is that there is Cadmium plated steel studs pressed in the part which we cannot remove.

I am worried that anodizing will attack the steel studs. We might have access to Epoxy E-coating but I am unsure about what will happen to the studs plating in the pre-treatment process.

Have someone experienced finishing similar aluminum/steel assembly? What are the option available for such an assembly?

Thank you!

Francis Gagné
Engineering student - Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
January 27, 2011