Combined powder coat & anodize

[seanc]

This is a dual forum post, involving powder coating & anodizing. I’ve posted this on the Anodizing forum as well. Now that I’ve got these two figured out, it’s time to do some real parts.

I’ve got a cast aluminum part that has a steel part embedded. I’m planning to mask the steel (w/Caswell liquid Mask-It), anodize the aluminum, then mask the aluminum, and powder coat the steel. (or the other way around).

Is powder coat affected by an anodize bath? (25% sulfuric acid)

If so, I can mask it off, but then is the PC surface finish affected by the masking agent?

Best to PC first, or anodize first?

Does anyone see other problems with this?

Thanks, Sean

[Noob2PC]

I would anodize first then powder coat. I dont think the PC would survive any kind of soaking.

the acid will mess the the powder up .. now when you mask off the anodize you need to use a fiberglass tape or what not

[seanc]

Thanks guys!

Concensus from both forums is to anodize first, then PC.

There’s a potential issue w/different thermal expansion rates between raw aluminum & the anodize layer, so I’ll have to test that out first. If so, I’ll reduce oven temp to recommended minumum & post the results.