Anodized & Painted Finishes

One of the unique traits of aluminum is its ability to be "anodized", a process like no other.  It was used by the US Military in WWII as a finish to protect against corrosion on it's aircraft.  It is an interesting irony that anodizing is controlled corrosion of the aluminum surface that actually protects the aluminum and makes it thicker.  If cared for, anodizing can last a lifetime. The process: Aluminum is first cleaned, and then submerged in a tank where acid is electrically charged while the aluminum is grounded.  The resulting chemical reaction changes aluminum oxide to aluminum hydrate.  This forms in the grain of the aluminum which gives it an extremely hard surface, called Clear Anodize.  If an earth tone color is desired, the clear anodize metal is dipped in a color tank before sealing (beware that each tone has an acceptable range of variance).  The third and final process is a dip solution that seals the new, harder surface.  Anodizing reveals the natural character of extruded aluminum, especially Clear Anodize.  Earth color anodizing is often chosen because of its less than uniform appearance.  If exact color uniformity is desired, painting is the better choice.

The painting process we use to coat our products is not like typical painting.  If cared for properly, the factory finish can last a lifetime.  A brief explanation of the process follows: First, each length of aluminum is chemically pretreated to prepare for the coatings.  The first coating is the primer, which is sprayed on the aluminum and then baked.  The second coating is the paint color which is applied like the primer.  In some colors a third coat is required which is a clear coat.  It is applied the same way as the primer and color.  During the spraying method, the paint is charged while the aluminum is grounded.  Robotic automation sprays each part for uniform coverage.  Fleetwood ONLY supplies an extraordinary paint blend on custom colors.  Many know of this blend as Kynar 500.  Its unique ingredient is a 70% flouropolymer resin which is designed to retain color integrity in the harshest environments.  This is the same paint which high-rise buildings around the world demand because of its exceptional color retention and salt air protection.  Once painted your custom colored extrusions are ready for fabrication.  In applications where limited care and maintenance will be applied to the products, we recommend Edge Armor.