What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic, etc?

Given some of the new finishes being used, I was wondering what is now considered to be the best for Al material? I would like a finish that is tough and wears well, something that I don't have to baby. I have read that the ceramic coating is great but it may be too brittle. Chrome seems to be tough but I think that it may not wear well. HA3 has been with us for a long time and seems to still be the best?

What other finishes out there that are tough. Which finish do you like?

Regards

I like HA III cause i think the dark green/brownish color looks SWEET /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

HA III doesn't wear well at all for me if carried in a pocket with keys. My Arc AAA HA III finish is demolished after 2 years in my pocket (the light still works fine of course) while the finish on a cheap $5 pill vial I carry in the same pocket still looks brand new. Good chrome or nickel plating lasts better in my experience, as far as pocket carry goes. Nickel will chip eventually if dropped a lot.

Hmmm...I wonder if the Glock tennifer finish or HK HE finish can be used on aluminum.

I think a stainless body and an aluminum heat sink is the way to go.

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

i like chrome, chrome bumpers type chrome , you do remember chrome bumbers dont you /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif ok so that car is old.

every paint or anodizing i have seen over LONG time of abuse, doesnt look so great up close.

I like Stingrays idea of stainless steel, because the reason i like chrome is because you can clean it, and clean it with about anything. and because its strong.
but when Stingray mentioned stainless steel it can be the BASE materials.

aluminum as the base materials is sorta soft. so you can put a tungston annodising on it, and it wont much help, when its the METAL UNDERNEATH that gets moved, or removed.

so unless your going to put the annodizing on something stronger to begin with, i dont even think a thin layer of chrome is going to be better.

look at the stainless steel that is on a good set of Eating tools, daily they go through heck, and still look great. especially vrses the real silverware.

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I guess it depends on what you want. Chrome is great for a custom light and leaves a beautful finish. For something that you don;t want to pamper and be able to beat up, HAIII is the most durable.

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I have found the opposite...for pocket carry, chrome or stainless looks virtually new for a long, long time while HA III gets ruined in my pocket with my keys. I don't know, maybe I have really hard keys or something.

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I think the problem here is what exactly do we want from a flashlight? I mean do we want good thermal management and a light weight carry or do we want poor thermal management and more weight? Unfortunately within acceptable cost parameters, aluminum is the most popular metal for flashlights. Therefore any coating will be carried on the surface of a soft aluminum base. It really doesn't matter what the coating is made of, eventually the base will deform in one way or another causing damage to the top coating. Who knows, one day they may invent a malleable coating which will adhere to the base without fear of it loosing its adhesion or being easily chipped or flaking at the edges. However, until this type of product is invented or discoverd we will just have to put up with coatings that do wear away, some more quickly than others.

Doug

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

What about bead-blasted bare al?

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I wish more lights were made of Stainless Steel like the FireFli (not to be mixed up with FireFly). The finish of the FireFli is very beautiful and it still looks like new even after being on my keychain for 5 weeks.

Sigbjoern

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

MY

Bead blasting isn't a coating it's a finish. FWIW I like bead blasted aluminum. However, it doesn't do a very good job of making aluminum any better at resisting corosion etc.

Doug

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

Stainless appeals to me and just how heavy is a thin tube going to feel? Unless your light is dumping many watts of heat into the body, I suspect stainless will have enough BTU capacity for most, normal, lights.

Do I hear Nitrolon, anyone?

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I'm pretty new around here, so I don't know if this has been addressed. I have noticed the cost of manufactured goods in titanium has come down quite a bit in the last year or so.

In terms of durability, weight, and such titanium would seem to be ideal, at least for the high end lights. I can't speak to electrical or thermal properties- though they can't be worse than the polymers /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I might also add that titanium can be anodized to some really amazing colors.

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I have my choice, including Ti. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I chose 7075 T6 with Nat Type III for my EDC's. For me, it represents the best compromise of thermal, electrical, and mechanical (including weight) properties for a small hot light.

Larry

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

In terms of abrassion resistance only, I would guess chrome over nickle would be best for longevity and a light looking tomorrow as it did today. In terms of knocks and abrassion, I would guess hard anodize may have some merit over chrome/ nickle as I believe it can hang onto a deformed substrate a bit better than the nickle. Not sure though.

Given the myriad of knocks, drops and abrassion, bare or raw Al has a better chance of looking the same over time if it is cleaned on ocassion and not used in a corrosive environment. 6061 T6 has good corrosion resistance as is provided you keep it away from chlorine.

I personally don't care for bare Al in the interior of the lights and not on the threads. If one was to anodize the interior and threads and break through the anodize only where necessary for electrical path connections and then leave the exterior raw or bare, one would have a light that would remain similar in appearance over time. You could really keep the light looking the same if you immediately drop it a couple times and let it roll around in a tool box! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif If one could impart a random scratch/gouge/ding surface finish to bare Al, you would have the ideal long lasting finish! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbsup.gif

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

""If one could impart a random scratch/gouge/ding surface finish to bare Al, you would have the ideal long lasting finish! ""

ha ha, we got some furnature here that was damaged for its finish (on purpose) , and it looks the same today as it did 20 years ago. course it looked like crud Then, AND now /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

I am partial to Ti. I know that it does not have very good thermal properties but for the EDC pocket rocket use that I need, I think that Ti would work out well for me. Weight, resistence to scratches, and durability are more important than heat transfer. I seldom use my lights at full blast for more than a few minutes so don't the need the extra heat dissapation properties of Al.

Regards.

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

LOL Vidpro... I have one too... the old stressed wood finish. It actually looks pretty good though.

I really think a stainless steel firefly type light would go over well and maintain it's original beauty without having to baby it. And the copper or aluminum heatsink would provide enough thermal relief for the short bursts on high...at least the way I use mine generally. Most of the time it's on low.

tvodrd, unfortunately I don't have any of your highly regarded pocket lights so I can't comment on finish durabilty, but I guess (?) it should be about the same as my EDC FF II, which is getting beat up from my keys. Besdies, when you can make your own lights as easily as you can and however and with whatever you desire, you probably don't mind having a few beat up versions for EDC since you can just make a new one or keep a few dozen new ones around. Kinda like an everyday light and a dress light (like watches).

(I'm envious of you guys that can make your own lights)

I can see where stainless would be too heavy and have poor thermal properties for larger high powered lights that are meant for longer durations of constant on usage.

McGizmo, Doug, I see what you mean about chrome or nickel not being able to hang onto the underlying soft aluminum when it gets dinged. All the more reason I want a stainless pocket light, or chrome plated mild steel, or chromed titanium maybe.

I guess I could always have a current light chromed and see what happens.

Steve

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

How about stainless with a DLC coating?

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

Steve,

I was OT in my post. There are different finishes commonly available for different materials, and choices arise. For "burst" mode, wood might suffice! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif For ultimate mechanical strength with decent corrosion resistance, heat-treatable stainless alloys like 17-4 or 440C could be the ticket. Many 300-series stainless alloys can be electropolished! Copper lights can be electro/electroless nickled and even followed with chrome or hard chrome.

My choice was to be able to "empty" a fresh CR2 (.6+A to the LED) over an hour while swapping it between cold beer-cooled hands. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif I still think "HA" over high-strength aluminum is the best trade-off.

Larry

Re: What is the best finish: HA, chrome, ceramic,

Larry,

Those were interesting and informative links, thanks. I think this pill vial I have that has spurred me on my quest for a key proof flashlight finish is probably electropolished stainless, based on what I read in that link (I can't be sure). It looks much better in person than in this pic for some reason, like shiny chrome.



This vial, which cost about $5 give or take a little at Walgreens, has ridden in my pocket with my keys and various HA III flashlights for many years. It still looks 99.99% as good as it did brand new. It looks like polished stainless, and although under a strong magnifier I can see some tiny scratches, they are invisible to the naked eye.

What's even cooler is that they come in different sizes and this one is just about the size of a CR123 battery.



The next size up would be the perfect size for the battery tube of a pocket light. It's ridiculously cheap and holds it's pristine finish almost indefinitely, at least when carried and used the way I do. I even bought the next size up one with the idea of making a FF sized light with it, but I don't have a workshop setup here nor access to one. I'd actually have to make the rest of it by hand with a dremel or something for lack of metalworking tools.

I guess if it is stainless or just polished steel it wouldn't be able to run on high for an hour with the BB650 I have in my FF without burning up, but that's not my goal really, although it would be nice if it could.

What about aluminum, plated with copper then 2 x nickel then chrome. Would the copper and nickel strengthen the aluminum and make it more dent resistant thus allowing the chrome to stay adhered better?

Steve