Non-hardwearing type III anodising

Hi,

I have a surefire L4, which as i understand it, has type III hard anodising. Also marketed as a tough torch.

I was therefore quite surprised, when I accidentally dropped my L4 from a height of 12 inches approx onto smooth, clean laminate flooring, to find that the L4 was marked from the impact. Not too severely, but noticeable none the less and I am really annoyed with myself

The damaged area is on the outer edge of the tailcap.

I had hoped for higher resistance to damage. Understandable to be marked, if dropped onto hard, rough concrete, but smooth laminate flooring?

Has anyone else experenced this or can any L4 owners comment upon this particular torched durability?

Also, any advice on how I can touch up the damage?

I know nothing stays like new, but I had expected the Surefire to wear if at all, very slowly and very subtley and to stand up better to lifes knocks and

Thanks for any advice,
Jason

With marked, do you mean deformed or scratched?
Maybe it's just me, but I wouldnt complain about my lights durability just cause it's easy to scratch. My hammer is durable. Is it scratch free? No.

Now you can really enjoy your light
You should see my L4! A battle scarred vet! A reliable old friend.

Another thing to keep in mind, HA is meant to withstand abrasion (scrapes and scratches) *not* impacts, the HA itself is durable, but the aluminum that makes up the light is a soft metal

it's the aluminum that deformed under impact and allowed some of the HA to flake off

Hi Jason,
It would be useful if you could post photos of the mark.

Hard Anodising is a growth perpendicular to the surface of the aluminium alloy substrate. At sharp edges and corners the growth will be weaker. Additionally, because aluminium alloy is quite a soft metal it will deform quite easily and theres nothing much can be done about that.

So if the mark is a dent or chip at the edge then that's life - your flashlight now has some character.
It could be that the mark is whatever was impacted, embedded in the HA - that happens too.

Character marks on my L2 everyday carry:

MacTech said:

Another thing to keep in mind, HA is meant to withstand abrasion (scrapes and scratches) *not* impacts, the HA itself is durable, but the aluminum that makes up the light is a soft metal

it's the aluminum that deformed under impact and allowed some of the HA to flake off

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Exactly. Some of these very hard new style coatings, TiN etc, are behaving the same way when applied to soft aluminum.

Size15: That is disgusting, clean your light, the pocket dust is disturbing.

Surefire and ARC have set the standards for quality hard anodizing for years. no matter how hard surface/sub-surface is. base aluminum is still relatively soft and will deform upon hard impact.

hard anodizing done to mil spec's will be 4-6 mils range with 50-60% of that thickness within base layer. typical outside thickness will range from .5 to 2.5 mils depending upon where. sharp edges will be thinest. that's why sharp machined edges will some times be bare new.

here's the actual mil spec's document. go to table 4 for thickness
http://assist.daps.dla.mil/docimages/0000/58/77/8625F.PD6

yeah it`s not the HA III it`s the alu.gc

65535 said:

Size15: That is disgusting, clean your light, the pocket dust is disturbing.

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Well in that case I won't offer you a mint I found (at least I think it's a mint)

hey there size15's ill take it i dont complain.

Size15's said:

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Your L2 has beautiful character. Like scars, marks like that probably have some good stories behind them. At the very least, it shows you use the light a lot.

I like things to be pristine when I buy them, only so that I know I'm the person responsible for giving it character. I take care of everything I own but dents, cuts and scratches are inevitable and are what impart sentimentality on an inanimate object.

One example is my pocket AM/FM radio. I've had it for about 10 years and it shows. The lettering around the buttons has all but disappeared and there are cuts all around the sides of the casing from countless impacts with pavement. Duct tape holds the battery compartment in place and I recently had to solder a loose battery contact. I briefly considered just buying a new one, but I looked at it and thought, "No, not until it stops working. It has too much character."

I drop my EDC's all the time. I've worn the 'knurling' from the rubber push-button on several TailCaps. The L2 is on it's second I think.

Try washing the flashlight with sponge and warm soapy water. With something soft like laminate, some of it may have just rubbed off on your flashlight. Fender benders in cars sometimes cause this kind of transfer.

Inevitably, we all drop our carry lights sooner or later. The first drop hurts the worst. That said, I like to take as good of care with my lights as practically possible. If the alloy isn't dented or crushed from the drop, the warm soapy water might help remove the mark. If it doesn't, use a cotton ball and a little rubbing alcohol that might help to restore it a bit. Good luck and don't sweat the marks too much

Thanks everyone for all the good advice.

The damage is limited to the HA coating and is directly on an edge, where it's thinnest.

I admit to experiencing that first parking ding (where someones opened there car door on yours) on a brand new car feeling

I am now trying to adapt my thinking towards more acceptance of lifes inevitable knocks and spills. Good advice that, remembering it's yours from new, it's intended to be used and it's added character.

With a lesser flashlight, it might not have survived being dropped!

Thanks again everyone, the L4 is now back in service having had a beauty rest in cotton wool :laughing:

Jason

Whaddya expect? It's aluminum, a soft metal. The HA is more for scratch prevention. If you drop it or bash it it's gonna ding easily.

JasonK said:

I admit to experiencing that first parking ding (where someones opened there car door on yours) on a brand new car feeling

I am now trying to adapt my thinking towards more acceptance of lifes inevitable knocks and spills. Good advice that, remembering it's yours from new, it's intended to be used and it's added character.
Jason

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It happens to us all, we get a brand new light, all shiny and brand-new, with that New-Light-Scent, and we want to *keep* it pristine, we handle it with kid gloves, polish and clean it, try to keep it spotless and unmarred

then the inevitable happens, it gets dinged/scraped/scratched/dented/whatever, and we're crushed, it's not "perfect" anymore, it's flawed, damaged, sullied....

The Horror, the HORROR!!!

we can't bear to look at it, the damage horrifies us and repels us, it reminds us of our inability to prevent the light from getting damaged....

after a while, something changes, the damage no longer bothers us, and we can finally get around to actually *USING* the light as a tool, at some point, the damage sets us free from obsessing over every minor cosmetic flaw the light picks up

I remember when i got my A2, how *HORRIFIED* i was when i discovered that the tailcap was being *SCRATCHED* by the steel lanyard clip, it was slowly abrading the HA. as i stored the light tailcap-down in a horizontal belt holster, the holster caused the clip to rub against the tailcap, wearing away at the HA

for weeks i couldn't bear the thought that my $195 light was no longer *perfect*, it annoyed me that an expensive tool couldn't handle a little metal-on-metal abrasion.....

somehow, something changed somewhere, and i realized the scratches in the HA were *cosmetic* only, and did not affect the functionality of the light as a tool, so i let it stop bothering me, flashights are tools, if a tool is used, it will pick up cosmetic damage, it's just a fact of life, i didn't spend almost $200 on a flashlight so it could look pretty sitting on my computer desk, i bought it to be *used*, cosmetic scrapes/dings/dents/scratches are character marks that show that the tool is used for it's intended purpose

No, i don't abuse my lights, but if they get a little scraped/scratched/dinged through use or pocket carry with change and/or keys, so be it, it no longer bothers me

MacTech,

I think you have given therapy to many of us without realizing it. After reading your post I felt I could jump up, throw my hands in the air and shout, "Bring on the dings and the scratches! We can take it like men!" Anyhow, henceforth ,I will be better able to console myself when faced with the inevitable signs of usage. Thanks......

Heh, thanks for the compliment, but i really don't think i posted anything all that special

i just posted my views on my flashlights, i bought them to be a tool, nothing more