Flashlight Body Anodizing Finish Types ?

[ltiu]

Hi guys,

Flashlight bodies can be made of many different materials. Plastic, aluminum, steel, etc.

I googled but I could not find anything helpful to me.

I am curious about what manufacturers call the "anodizing finish". I am wondering what it really means and what are the differences between the different anodizing types (type 1, 2, 3, ...)?

Thanks.

 

[Fenris]

Click Here.

 

[Gunner12]

The main kinds of coating you'll see in stores is either paint, Type II, HA(Inova), rubber or plastic.

Anodizing is mainly for Aluminum. It's a layer of aluminum oxide growth on the aluminum itself.

Type 1: I don't think it's common anymore.
Type 2: The kind you see on Maglites, some lower end Surefires, most of the cheaper Flashlights have Type 2 Anodizing. Easy to color.
Type 3: Aka HA, the hardest of the Anodizing, thinner example are Fenix and thicker examples are Arc and Surefire. Hard to color. There was a thread in which a Surefire body ground a hole in a Minimag's body, and the Surefire was unscratched.

Some aluminum light have a liquid ceramic coating, like the Night-Ops Gladius.

Some titanium lights, like the Draco(Intro part 2), can be had with a AlTiN, AlTi coating, the same stuff you see on drill bits. Needless to say, it's tough stuff.

Duracoat is also used on some flashlights (Some with beautiful results).

There's probably many more types of coating that I haven't heard of.