HAIII coating chips easliy

cbr400rr

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
32
Is HAIII coatingsupposed to be pretty tough or crap? I have a 4sevens that is already chipped tat was in my pocket. I have a Eagletac to that seems to be chipped. I very carefull of my flashlights, iused to have a older olight T20 and that never had a problemwith the coating
 

ElectronGuru

Flashaholic
Joined
Aug 18, 2007
Messages
6,055
Location
Oregon
HA is not a single standard. A shell can be as thin as a shop wants to make it and it can still be called type III. Thicker HA is more durable but its also more work, more money, and more risk (higher failure rate). And unless you're willing to quote the thickness in the specs, of limited short term (read: sales) advantage.
 

ErickThakrar

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 11, 2004
Messages
581
Location
New Mexico
Not true. There are multiple specifications, including military ones, that specify the thickness of the coating for something to be called Type III. Generally speaking, all of these standards call for a coating thickness greater than 25 μm.
 

cbr400rr

Newly Enlightened
Joined
May 17, 2012
Messages
32
All I know is my 4sevens got a chip on it. Can a back of a knife chip it? I cant see it banging against it with much force. Rubbingagainst it yes.
 
Last edited:

Echo63

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 26, 2004
Messages
1,777
Location
Perth - West Australia
A knife blade and HA3 will be similar in hardness.

HA3 is fairly brittle, and can chip easily, but it is very wear resistant, it tends to disappear from sharp edges first

I have wear on all but one of my HA3 lights.
the one that shows no wear is my Oveready bored and anodized SF9P.
it has been EDCed for ages, in an open carrier, has been dropped and has a massive ding on the side of the head, but is only missing anodizing on a ding on the tailcap, the area missing is less than a mm across.

Whatever Electronguru, Moddo and the rest of the Oveready crew are doing, they are doing it right because their HA3 is solid.
 
Last edited:

HotWire

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Mar 9, 2011
Messages
1,651
According to anodizing.org type III can vary from 12.7µ-115µ. I have flashlights that despite hard use over time have few or no scratches and nicks. I have other lights that are scratched and nicked. They don't seem to be created equally. Most were labeled as type III anodizing. What really counts is how good the light is. I don't care if my lights have a hard-earned patina.
 

yellow

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Oct 31, 2002
Messages
4,629
Location
Baden.at
depends on the aluminium used.

if this is "softer", then an impact might bend "through" the ouside, hard HA, shell more and thus it might crack easier ...
 

yliu

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 10, 2011
Messages
584
Location
Hungary
My anodized lights chip as well, I think it normal and makes the light look cool:)
 

BLUE LED

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
1,922
Location
UK
Some HA III coating are better than others. I have noticed this on my lights. Some of them flake off, if you so much as look at it. Others are incredibly good and it takes a lot for anything to chip off.
 

Vinniec5

Enlightened
Joined
May 4, 2009
Messages
506
Location
New Jersey
Sunwayled/Sunwayman's Anodize coatings are excellent and tough. they really do a nice job on their finishes. I've banged my sunways around alot and they really don't show it
 

BLUE LED

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 15, 2008
Messages
1,922
Location
UK
Sunwayled/Sunwayman's Anodize coatings are excellent and tough. they really do a nice job on their finishes. I've banged my sunways around alot and they really don't show it

Agreed Sunwayman is very good along with Surefire, Wolfeyes and Xeno.
 

Owen

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 14, 2002
Messages
2,048
Location
AL
Anodizing is a process involving several variables that have to be controlled, and is also affected by the grade and treatment of the aluminum.
There's no free lunch. A lot of people think the whole story behind Chinese lights being less expensive "for what you get"(in most cases I'd say for what you perceive you're getting) is cheap labor vs. expensive labor and brand recognition, but you're also dealing with uncontrolled manufacturing with unknown raw materials.
We don't know if the aluminum was tempered or anodized properly. We don't even know if it was the same grade of aluminum as the marketing claimed. We have no way of knowing, so we take it at face value, but over and over we see the inferior results.
I think it's no accident "type III hard anodized" finishes from Fenix, NiteCore, or 4Sevens(my experience, I'm sure there are plenty of others) consistently show wear many times as quickly as type II ano from Streamlight or Surefire, and are visibly different in new appearance from type III ano by SF, Arc, and some Chinese companies like Zebralight and Jetbeam, and even more visibly different after impacts or wear.
Google: "aluminum temper", "aluminum grade", "anodizing aluminum", and "you get what you pay for";)
 

bbb74

Enlightened
Joined
Jul 6, 2010
Messages
364
Location
Australia
The anodising on my fenix and zebralights seems better than that on the 4sevens for what its worth.

I've got a fenix and a 4sevens that do everything together (literally - they are on the same lanyard), and they rub against each other a lot in my bag. The 4sevens is not holding up as well to the wear this causes.
 

fyrstormer

Banned
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
6,617
Location
Maryland, Near DC, USA
In regards to chipping, the underlying metal is more significant than the anodizing itself. If the metal is a cheap soft alloy, it will dent easily, and the brittle anodizing will crack and fall off.
 

Up All Night

Enlightened
Joined
May 29, 2012
Messages
487
Regardless of the above mentioned parameters HAIII is going to chip. It all comes down to what you expose your lights to, some do it better than others.
My SF's do it well while some of my other lights chip as you look at them, or so it seems.
Personally, I think if a light has served you well those chips are earned and to those that chip as I gingerly slip split rings on....SHAME ON YOU!

Some lights should be packaged with Sharpies and those who make them know who they are. Just sayin!
 

GordoJones88

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
1,157
Location
Tennessee
I've used a black permanent marker on my Quark Turbo X, Olight i1, and Jetbeam BC10.
It fills in any missing black paint quite well.
 

davecroft

Enlightened
Joined
Aug 23, 2011
Messages
384
I had a 4Sevens which arrived chipped in the box. I have a Fenix E01 on my keys, it rattles around in my pocket every day and the ano has not chipped yet, but has worn very slightly around the split ring attachment.

The finish on the 4Sevens was more 'glossy' black, almost like a sprayed on finish. None of my other lights look like that, the ano on those is a bit duller and just feels more durable.
 

madecov

Flashlight Enthusiast
Joined
Feb 16, 2003
Messages
2,151
Location
Houston, Texas
I have found that a glossy finish will usually chip easier than a matte finish. I do usually prefer a satin type of finish. I love the Thrunite Scorpion finish.
 

Yamabushi

Enlightened
Joined
Apr 16, 2012
Messages
761
Location
Canada
I find that black permanent markers usually have a purple tint.

I find Birchwood Casey's "Universal Touch-Up Pen Black" is a better match for most anodized finishes. Even better, use their "Aluminum Black Finish" first to chemically blacken the aluminum and then finsih coat with the Touch-Up Pen.
 
Top