I have 162" Ice age rails and i would like to get them coated black. What is the best way to do it, Anodize or Powdercoat? Thanks Tyler
Slide rails. Anodize or Powdercoat?
- Thread starter Nytroty
- Start date
I like the black HARD anodize...really tuff finish, color anodizing looks better but wears/marks/scratches quick
Powder coat is my second choice...wrinkle semi flat black. Fabcraft uses this finish
Powder coat is my second choice...wrinkle semi flat black. Fabcraft uses this finish
M
Last 3 sleds had powder coated rails, looks great and lasts!
G
I had my rails powder coated, and they seem to not build up with snow and ice as much.
Powder coat is definitely more durable than even Hard Black Anodize. But I like the look of Anodize better. I guess it looks more evenly distributed. The powder coat tends to look "Fat" because of the thickness that is applied with the powder, where as Hard Black Anodize only adds about .002" (which is about 1/2 the thickness of a standard sheet of notebook paper). Anodize will weigh less too!
It totally depends on the product, prep, and applicator skills as to what you get for look and durability. Snow/ice shedding performance depends on the product and the single critical issue is how smooth the surface is when you are done. Dents..bumps (hammer or wrinkle finish powders are the WORST PERFORMERS AVAILABLE)...grains...scratches all act as velcro for ice to adhere on..once it gets started it builds rapidly and quickly you are packing around a bunch of extra weight. You cannot believe how much ice weight we pack around during riding! You can minimize snow and ice holding and build-up by powder coating everything possible.
The only time hard anodize processes can even remotely compete with certain electrostatic powders is when the base metal is polished to a high shine...there are also different processes with anodizing that very durability and the ultimate performance of the parts in question.
The only time hard anodize processes can even remotely compete with certain electrostatic powders is when the base metal is polished to a high shine...there are also different processes with anodizing that very durability and the ultimate performance of the parts in question.
P
See, Rob likes PC so much, he posted twice!
I chose to PC mine, and so far, I am happy with the result. I did this on a recommendation from JKinzer.
I chose to PC mine, and so far, I am happy with the result. I did this on a recommendation from JKinzer.
I've had my past two sets of rails powdercoated and they both seemed to hold up great, but I can't say good or bad about anodizing. Surface prep is the key to powdercoating.
Hi , talked to someone today that make a mtn. skid about this today , he said that the rails are heat tempered and if you get them powder coated they bake them in a oven and doing so take the temper out and the rail become soft and bends easy .
I realize you are quoting someone else but they have no idea what they are talking about. So not shooting the messanger BUT.....
I've done over thirty sets now including several of my own. 100% we put more stress on suspension rails then 99% of the general riding public There have also been extensive military spec'd studies to show how much heat and chemical you have to put on the varieties of alloy to make performance changes. 400* at 20 minutes has no notable effect. We heat and coat thousands and thousands of Better Boards and also do compound stress pressure tests on our metal parts after all of our various treatment processes from chemical bath to heat. No bend rate change and our metal is a fraction of the ratio of a rail.
I've done over thirty sets now including several of my own. 100% we put more stress on suspension rails then 99% of the general riding public There have also been extensive military spec'd studies to show how much heat and chemical you have to put on the varieties of alloy to make performance changes. 400* at 20 minutes has no notable effect. We heat and coat thousands and thousands of Better Boards and also do compound stress pressure tests on our metal parts after all of our various treatment processes from chemical bath to heat. No bend rate change and our metal is a fraction of the ratio of a rail.
I agree there is no way 400 deg is going to hurt the rail at all...
But I will also say that mil-spectype III hard coat anodize is amazing finish.. just take 2 parts one powder and 1 card coat and drag a nail point over them..you wont even begin to scratch the hard coat the powder ur in the aluminium. Then try drilling through the anodizing...oh use a bit u dont like..cause its toast. The biggest problem is that most people just color anodize, and thats a fragile finish. Type III hard coat is between 60-70 Rc,.002-.0035 thick and thats HARD and you dont have to polish it thats just for color anodizing.But it will look much better if u do. Ive used hardcoat for years and it is one tough finish. And if ur really into it you can hardcoat it and then powder coat over it.
But you better like it cause there are only a few places that can strip hardcoat without major damage to the metal..
for the sleds I like the powder coat..nice smooth easy and can be redone if needed.....imho and of course colors as hardcoat III is olive green or dark grey only no choices there.
But I will also say that mil-spectype III hard coat anodize is amazing finish.. just take 2 parts one powder and 1 card coat and drag a nail point over them..you wont even begin to scratch the hard coat the powder ur in the aluminium. Then try drilling through the anodizing...oh use a bit u dont like..cause its toast. The biggest problem is that most people just color anodize, and thats a fragile finish. Type III hard coat is between 60-70 Rc,.002-.0035 thick and thats HARD and you dont have to polish it thats just for color anodizing.But it will look much better if u do. Ive used hardcoat for years and it is one tough finish. And if ur really into it you can hardcoat it and then powder coat over it.
But you better like it cause there are only a few places that can strip hardcoat without major damage to the metal..
for the sleds I like the powder coat..nice smooth easy and can be redone if needed.....imho and of course colors as hardcoat III is olive green or dark grey only no choices there.
M
yeah ditto Rob on this...have your buddy study aluminum annealing...which BTW, requires temps around 700 degrees whereas powdercoating is generally baked under 450 degrees...
Not even close... Type 3 hard anodizing has a rockwell of C65 -C70... in comparison to a grade 8 bolt at C35-C38
The hardcoat Type III anodizing is the most durable of the two choices and equally less porous with an un-abraded powder coating.... thus shedding ice and snow in a similar fashion.
Powdercoating is only as good as the application process as F-Bomb points out... he has put WAY more research into this than most of us would dream of. The process that he uses is one of the most thorough that I've seen!
Good powdercoating and Type III are about a push on cost.
Powdercoating gives you color choices... Type III is only in black or shades of black.
True for decrative Type I or Type II ano.... not true for hard anodize...No polishing is needed... heck the Navy uses Type-III on their Arctic-bound ships and subs. specifically to inhibit ice buildup on deck mounted aluminum components.
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just had my rails ano'ed and they look good but which there was more places to get it done. the place i got mine done at told my the hardcoat thing is a common myth, there is a harder clear anodize but any anodizing with colours are the same. i thought they were full of bs cause i did the research, but they were a pretty "simple operation". i will do ano again in the future as the colours look amazing with polish but getting a good place to do it is key for me.
Yep they are full of B.S. We use regular andodize as well as Hardcoat both in black and there is no comparisson. The regular anodize will scratch pretty easy. Noth the Hardcoat. No way. Thanks for all of the advice everyone still up in the air on what i want to do so keep the suggestions coming!
C
I have a question on powder coating. Is it true that where the bolts go through the rails they have a tendency to losen because the powder coating compresses causing the holes to oblong. I was told thats why articcat stop coating there rails.Thanks
ttt
J
I was talking to ice age guys at haydays, and they don't recomend powercoating rails because of the temper issue. That being said we have 2 2010 assault's with powercoated rails and one has bent rails, didn't remember hitting anything but i can't really blame the powdercoat temper thing. Talking to other pc experts, 425 degrees will change the temper. The ideal temp to powdercoat is 400, it is not uncommon to see hot spots in a baking oven, which is close to 425 degree critical temp
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