Best way to refurbish nicks in HA III or bare Aluminum?

Since most lights are made from aluminum and many have anodizing I'm trying to decide the best way to clean up a couple lights I want to keep. One is Hard Anodized type III and is the typical brownish color. Another is bare aluminum. Is there a way to fill in the bigger nicks and dents in aluminum? Maybe some type of Epoxy or can it be somehow done with aluminum or other metal? Has anyone tried adding solder to a nick and then sanding it down? Once a nick is repaired what would be the best way to recolor it to the HA III short of having the light re-anodized? Duracoat? Moderators - apologize if this isn't the right place for this - wasn't sure if it should go here since most lights are aluminum or in the machining/materials section. Please move if appropriate.

I think most folks just use a black permanent marker to hide the shiny dings and nicks. I don't remember reading of any more sophisticated means of repairing our lights' character marks.

Try nail polish

I just use a Sharpie permanent marker...

Someone earlier mentioned a product called Aluma-Hyde, which comes in different colors. I might try this out on a scratch, or maybe I will just try to forget that the scratch is there

I think I can come up with some things to match the color but I've got a couple lights with BIG dings that I'd like to fill in or somehow repair. Flashlight Bondo? That's it - a yet to be created product called Flashlight Bondo for aluminum :thinking:

jb weld and a gunsmiths aluminum cold blue?

Alumahyde is what I use. Birchwood Casey makes them. Gun shops carry them.

CM - thanks - looks like good stuff and once I started thinking gun stuff I found all kinds of things that should work.

matrixshaman said:

CM - thanks - looks like good stuff and once I started thinking gun stuff I found all kinds of things that should work.

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Guns and flashlights. The two are a match made in heaven :devil: