I have some large pieces of 1/4" thick sheet aluminum that I will be using indoors as a walkway. from being handled by fork lifts and sitting in the storage the shiny surface has scratches on it. I would like to dull the surface in a uniform manner to hide the scratches and the future wear better. any ideas on the best way to do this? I thought media blasting with a clear coat might be best. what media, what clear coat?
any thoughts are appreciated...
Well,
You can sandblast it, bead blast it, sand it or scuff it with a scotchbrite pad. Aluminum by itself is kinda soft. There are some hardcoat anodizes out there but are prolly expensive.
Aluminum as a wear surface is gonna be difficult. Mebbe epoxy primers like they use on aircraft.
Heck, all the old the stone steps in Europe are dished in the middle. Feet/shoes are abrasive.
Ken
ken,
yeah there will be a wear issue, but it's just a walkway to the bedroom, so shouldn't be too bad. the aluminum seems to have some sort of coating on it now, it's shiny and smooth. I was hoping for some sort of clear coat.
rich,
I can't believe it! I never even got around to hooking up my DVI. actually, I was going to do it tonight..
BTW...what's a flapper wheel?
Clear hard anodize after palm sanding with an random orbital sander is the ticket. Plating shops will have $50-$75 mins on the anodizing though.
I'll look into the clear hard anodizing. these are big pieces, $75 minimum definitely won't be an issue.
Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)