Surefire Anodizing Mismatching, worst than ever?

[ebow86]

Ok as we all know, surefire's natural colored HA III coating has never matched colors over the years, from what I gather surefire does their anodizing in large batches which makes it very diffucult to make colors match. It doesn't affect the performance of the light in any way so most people don't care.

However, I've been looking at some reviews on the newer surefire lights, particually the A2L LED aviator and the LX2. After viewing many pictures it seems like these 2 lights has some of the worst anodozing mismatched colors I've ever seen on any light, regardless of brand. Green bezels, pink tailcaps, brown or bronze colored bodies, geez! I mean, I know it's very difficult to make colors match when anodozing and surefire isn't worried how the light looks, just how it performs, but I've seen many surefire lights over the past few years and I have to say, from what I've seen, the A2L and Lx2 diffently has the worst mismatched anodozing I've ever seen. I never remember seeing an M3, or M6, or E2L or anything have as bad mismatched colors as these 2 lights.Anyone else notice this tread on newer surefire lights?

PS: Not a surefire bashing, just an observation

 

[DimeRazorback]

With the later builds of those particular lights the consistency in colour did 'improve'.

I have on me right now one of the first LX2's to hit the market that is 'unmatched' and I later bought one which was more silver in colour but was more matching.

To be honest, I prefer the earlier 'unmatching' one as it is more Olive Drab than silver...

This is me making an observation, so please take no offence, but I have noticed that you consistently make reference to your "OCD". Do you actually suffer from OCD? (in other words have you been diagnosed?)
I ask only as, to be quite frank all of the 'issues' you point out about lights (surefire in particular) are really quite minimal and meaningless when it comes down to what a flashlight is designed for.

 

[ebow86]

With the later builds of those particular lights the consistency in colour did 'improve'.

I have on me right now one of the first LX2's to hit the market that is 'unmatched' and I later bought one which was more silver in colour but was more matching.

To be honest, I prefer the earlier 'unmatching' one as it is more Olive Drab than silver...

This is me making an observation, so please take no offence, but I have noticed that you consistently make reference to your "OCD". Do you actually suffer from OCD? (in other words have you been diagnosed?)
I ask only as, to be quite frank all of the 'issues' you point out about lights (surefire in particular) are really quite minimal and meaningless when it comes down to what a flashlight is designed for.

First off, no I don't have OCD. Yes I do find you post offensive. I was simply making an observation that the anodizing on the newer surefire's did not match. I never said that was an issue with me, nor did I actually imply that it was a problem I had with the light. It was simply an observation. If I would have implied that I did have a problem with the anodizing then I could understand what your saying, but for what I said in the post, I think it was inappropriate and unnecessary to ask me if I had OCD. When I say "OCD" I am just loosley using a term for being a little compulsive about something, not the full blown OCD you are inmplying.

 

[jhc37013]

I'm not sure if it's worse but like you said Surefire knows most end-users don't care about that and that's why now when I order a new Surefire I ask my dealer if they could look it over and find a good matching model for me.

I normally don't ask for anything special to make it fair for everyone else, but like I said I don't think most Surefire buyers beyond CPF care so I ask.

I did have a LX2 that I did not make any special request that had the best matching natural ano that I have ever seen. I traded that light at the Marketplace, it was mint and had only been used to test the beam so it had maybe 15mins use only on the battery's.

I miss it but I know the person who got it really appreciates it and actually uses it, it was to pretty not to be used so I'm glad I made the trade.

 

[jp2515]

I never remember seeing an M3, or M6, or E2L or anything have as bad mismatched colors as these 2 lights.Anyone else notice this tread on newer surefire lights?

An owners perspective, based on the lights in my Pelican case:

M6 MagnumLight: KT4 is more gray that body, body is a faded olive and tailcap is like the head just a few shades lighter.

Millennium Series M6: 90% match for the head, body and tailcap.
There is a lighter olive tint in the KT-4, slightly noticeable if admired under a light.

M6 Guardian:
Head is a gray HA. Body is lighter, move olive like color. Tailcap is a dark gray HA. Body contrasts with the rest at a distance. Not to worry, the 1185 + 17670s are more impressive than the color.

L6 Lego:
KL6: darker shade of olive
L6 body: Lighter, grayish olive
SW02: dark gray

M3CB
Head, body and tailcap are a very close match. Z46 is just a tad more greenish, same with tailcap. Noticeable if held under a light.

M3LT
Body: Darker olive
KT4: more gray, definitely stick out
Z59: light olive, slightly noticeable compared to the body

M4
Body & tailcap match (more recent production, darker gray HA)
KT4: slightly lighter greenish HA (noticeable if you stare at it)


L4 (SSC): 95% match in color of the parts. The bottom of the head is a slight shade off than the bezel
E2L: body and tailcap 99% match (gray), head is tad more green/olive
E1L: 99% match of head, body and tailcap
L1: perfect match, enough said (minus the dings)

L5 Lego: KL5A head has darker gray base, olive body portion and a dark gray bezel

M2 Lego: lighter gray SW02, ultra olive green body and dark gray HA head
M2 Lego 2: head, body and tailcap match

 

[ebow86]

An owners perspective, based on the lights in my Pelican case:

M6 MagnumLight: KT4 is more gray that body, body is a faded olive and tailcap is like the head just a few shades lighter.

Millennium Series M6: 90% match for the head, body and tailcap.
There is a lighter olive tint in the KT-4, slightly noticeable if admired under a light.

M6 Guardian:
Head is a gray HA. Body is lighter, move olive like color. Tailcap is a dark gray HA. Body contrasts with the rest at a distance. Not to worry, the 1185 + 17670s are more impressive than the color.

L6 Lego:
KL6: darker shade of olive
L6 body: Lighter, grayish olive
SW02: dark gray

M3CB
Head, body and tailcap are a very close match. Z46 is just a tad more greenish, same with tailcap. Noticeable if held under a light.

M3LT
Body: Darker olive
KT4: more gray, definitely stick out
Z59: light olive, slightly noticeable compared to the body

M4
Body & tailcap match (more recent production, darker gray HA)
KT4: slightly lighter greenish HA (noticeable if you stare at it)


L4 (SSC): 95% match in color of the parts. The bottom of the head is a slight shade off than the bezel
E2L: body and tailcap 99% match (gray), head is tad more green/olive
E1L: 99% match of head, body and tailcap
L1: perfect match, enough said (minus the dings)

L5 Lego: KL5A head has darker gray base, olive body portion and a dark gray bezel

M2 Lego: lighter gray SW02, ultra olive green body and dark gray HA head
M2 Lego 2: head, body and tailcap match

Wow, took some time to post that didn't you? Quite a collection of parts you have there. Yeah, you just verified what I already knew, they have always mismatched, it just seemed like the 2 lights I mentioned had some of the worst I've seen.

 

[Size15's]

The KT4 is a TurboHead Kit (No.4), more precisely, it is conversion Kit, TurboHead, No.4. KT4-HA
It features the Millennium TurboHead bezel and the MN15 & MN16 Lamp Assemblies. The Previous version featured the N2 Lamp Assembly.

It is wrong to call the Millennium TurboHead "KT4" if you are referring to the Millennium TurboHead on the M4 or M6 as these do not feature the MN15/MN16 or N2 Lamp Assemblies.
To miss-name in this way could result in an unsuspecting user installing a KT4 TurboHead Kit No.4 on an M4 or M6 body and this could lead to the bulb exploding and ruining the reflector.

And the M3LT's bezel is specifically named KX9T so in no way shape or form a No.4 TurboHead Kit.

 

[angelofwar]

L5 Lego: KL5A head has darker gray base, olive body portion and a dark gray bezel

That sounds like the KL5A I used to have...I miss that thing...

How much you want for the KL6???

Yeah, it's nice when the Ano Matches, but the mismatch that was previlent during 03-06 actually gives them a nice, unique look, like the KL5A JP described. The different shades don't bother me, BUT, a darker hue of a certain shade does...My L4 came with a REALLY dark grey tailcap...had to switch it out instantly...but, that's just my OCD kicking in

 

[jp2515]

That sounds like the KL5A I used to have...I miss that thing...

How much you want for the KL6???

The KL-6 has a sweet MC-E inside of it courtesy of Dafabricata. Darn it, the annodizing doesn't match the rest of the light but hot damn, can't turn down a good deal.

Yeah, it's nice when the Ano Matches, but the mismatch that was previlent during 03-06 actually gives them a nice, unique look, like the KL5A JP described. The different shades don't bother me, BUT, a darker hue of a certain shade does...My L4 came with a REALLY dark grey tailcap...had to switch it out instantly...but, that's just my OCD kicking in

So the HA doesn't match for most of the lights, oh well silly me.

However, I will not complain about awesome deals from the Marketplace!

 

[PeaceOfMind]

I have on me right now one of the first LX2's to hit the market that is 'unmatched' and I later bought one which was more silver in colour but was more matching.

To be honest, I prefer the earlier 'unmatching' one as it is more Olive Drab than silver...

My non-first run model LX2 is also dark grey/silver as many of them seem to be. It is reasonably well matched except for the lower piece of the head being a bit lighter than the rest of the head/body/tail.

The LX2s that are more olive drab in colour look awesome though! Dime, if you ever have time I'd be really curious to see a picture of your two LX2s side by side to have a look at how the more olive drab ones look in comparison to the grey.

 

[tankahn]

My dealer is always willing to let us try out. As usual the Surefires with best matching colors and most pleasing tint were bought

 

[UnderTheWeepingMoon]

I personally like the mismatched ano on SureFires. It's like having a two (or more) tone paint job on a car.

 

[DM51]

I personally like the mismatched ano on SureFires. It's like having a two (or more) tone paint job on a car.

I do too. One of my A2s has 4 quite different green/brown ano colors for the bezel ring, head, body & tailcap. It looks very distinctive, and I wouldn't want to exchange it for a light that was a uniform flat gray.

 

[JNewell]

Depending on a number of variables, you can often get visual results with online display of digital photographs that are not representative of actual appearances. I would not leap to conclusions based on web photos. The lights I've seen in person at local SF dealers in the past year have actually been more consistent than in past years.

Ok as we all know, surefire's natural colored HA III coating has never matched colors over the years, from what I gather surefire does their anodizing in large batches which makes it very diffucult to make colors match. It doesn't affect the performance of the light in any way so most people don't care.

However, I've been looking at some reviews on the newer surefire lights, particually the A2L LED aviator and the LX2. After viewing many pictures it seems like these 2 lights has some of the worst anodozing mismatched colors I've ever seen on any light, regardless of brand. Green bezels, pink tailcaps, brown or bronze colored bodies, geez! I mean, I know it's very difficult to make colors match when anodozing and surefire isn't worried how the light looks, just how it performs, but I've seen many surefire lights over the past few years and I have to say, from what I've seen, the A2L and Lx2 diffently has the worst mismatched anodozing I've ever seen. I never remember seeing an M3, or M6, or E2L or anything have as bad mismatched colors as these 2 lights.Anyone else notice this tread on newer surefire lights?

PS: Not a surefire bashing, just an observation

 

[jamesmtl514]

Most of my SFs match.
The first E2DL i bought looked like it was assembled in a 3rd world Asian country. I promptly returned it to SF and received a new, much better looking one.

6P: very well matched.
A2: the part of the body that has the rectangles and the tail cap are brown and under bright light turn purple. I can live with it.
E1B: Well matched
E2DL: Well matched.
M1: the 3 parts aren't exactly the same color, they are close and compliment each other.
M6: well matched.

 

[carrot]

Some of my lights are matched perfectly. Some are not.
Some look really cool with mismatched ano, and some do not.

Don't care really. I don't spend all day sitting around looking at my lights, I buy them so I can use them.

 

[Eric242]

L5 Lego: KL5A head has darker gray base, olive body portion and a dark gray bezel

My KL5A looks the same.

The worse the better for me!

I think the lights look much better that way.

Eric

 

[JNewell]

Some of my lights are matched perfectly. Some are not.
Some look really cool with mismatched ano, and some do not.

Don't care really. I don't spend all day sitting around looking at my lights, I buy them so I can use them.

Agree, some of mine are perfect, others are amazingly different. Even natural HA gets dinged up eventually - it's a total non-issue.

 

[DimeRazorback]

Dime, if you ever have time I'd be really curious to see a picture of your two LX2s side by side to have a look at how the more olive drab ones look in comparison to the grey.

I'd love to do so for you but I did sell the second LX2 that I had.
I am not sure if I have any pictures of them together but I will have a look, and at last resort I will try to create a side by side of the two from separate images.

First off, no I don't have OCD. Yes I do find you post offensive. I was simply making an observation that the anodizing on the newer surefire's did not match. I never said that was an issue with me, nor did I actually imply that it was a problem I had with the light. It was simply an observation. If I would have implied that I did have a problem with the anodizing then I could understand what your saying, but for what I said in the post, I think it was inappropriate and unnecessary to ask me if I had OCD. When I say "OCD" I am just loosley using a term for being a little compulsive about something, not the full blown OCD you are inmplying.

Ok, that's fine.
However isn't an observation normally created with some form of subjective undertone?
I know mine was.

I will address the issue at hand, so that no one is confused.

I have recently noticed a trend in your posts concerning minimal issues (to the majority of users) where you seem distressed over these issues, and that is completely fine. However, I have also noticed a trend where you blame these issues that you find on your "OCD".
I merely asked a question about what you have repeated a number of times, being your "OCD". I have not made any assumptions, just observations.
I personally do not appreciate it when people use, for example a mental illness as an excuse for an action that they may have doubts about after the fact. If you don't like something, just say it. Don't go blaming OCD for your dislike of scuffed up lights or mismatched anodizing on a flashlight, when you don't actually suffer from it.
To me that could cause insult to people who do suffer from OCD, but think your concerns are completely irrational, giving them a 'bad reputation'.
If you do in fact suffer from OCD that is absolutely fine, and I completely understand why you would have concerns that others would not even think of. I personally think it is quite wrong to get upset however, when you are asked about something that you have publically announced as an excuse for those concerns. :shrug: If you don't have something, why say you do?


When I have issues with something, I address those issues, as I have done in this thread. That is the only purpose of this post.

I am not trying to create an argument, or cause insult, I am just justifying my statement.

 

[ebow86]

I think black anodizing has the best look anyway, and IF a buyer is concerned about mismatching (which I'm not) it really is minimal on black finishes. Mismatched anodizing CAN look good but it all depends, sometimes it looks good, other times it doesn't. Ofcourse that's a very subjective thing, mismatched anodizing doesn't affect a lights performence in any way but it is nice to have a matching finish.