Most durable/best Aluminum coating?

Chrome or Type III hard anodize

What is your application/environment of use?

keychain light.

If it's a good chrome plating then I think it will serve you better than the anodize provided you don't need it to be "grippy" and have heavy knurl. I state this because chrome is excellent at abraision resistance and it itself is not abrasive wheras the anodize will act as a fine abrasive against the objects it encounters on the key ring.

McGizmo said:

If it's a good chrome plating then I think it will serve you better than the anodize provided you don't need it to be "grippy" and have heavy knurl. I state this because chrome is excellent at abraision resistance and it itself is not abrasive wheras the anodize will act as a fine abrasive against the objects it encounters on the key ring.

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However I have seen more than my fair share of flaking chrome on aluminum but I have also seen Highly polished and very smooth hard anodizing, but that is on suspension parts of absurdly expensive bicycles.

Suffice to say I have yet to see an aluminum flashlight with the same quality of finish work as some of my bicycle parts. But since most people want a grippy flashlight I can see why say surefire hasn't tried to do a polished hard ano finish

ALienRFX,

I agree with your comments and I did "qualify" my chrome plate. If the AL is machined from billet and plated properly, the chrome should hold up. I believe this requires either copper or nickel as a substrate. Chrome over cast Al is a much tougher proposition and I suspect most failures evidenced are in this case. :shrug:

Hard anodize over polished Al on the other hand will reduce the abrasive element of the finished film and allow it to cohabitate (sp) with other items on a key ring with less damage to others.

Regardless, a smooth surface is contrary to grippy and inferior in function if grippy is desired or needed.

AlienRFX said:

However I have seen more than my fair share of flaking chrome on aluminum but I have also seen Highly polished and very smooth hard anodizing, but that is on suspension parts of absurdly expensive bicycles.

Suffice to say I have yet to see an aluminum flashlight with the same quality of finish work as some of my bicycle parts. But since most people want a grippy flashlight I can see why say surefire hasn't tried to do a polished hard ano finish

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Curious which/what parts you are referring to... there many very high quality anodized bicycle parts out there but most are not Type III hard anodized and/or not very thick. They look really nice when new but I find they do not wear super well. This includes Chris King, RaceFace, etc. I'm a big fan of silver parts. (P.S. I'm a former RFX owner!)


One thing not mentioned in this thread is which looks better when well worn... anodizing remains nice and even while chrome often gets splotchy.