So i have a question for you guys. I know you can anodize aluminum, and our intakes are aluminum, so can you anodize an entire intake manifold? Anybody do this? How would the price compare to powdercoating? Any pics? Thanks guys!
You could have it anodized, I've had plenty of parts anodized, but there are some issues.
1. It has to be completely disassembled down to the Aluminum only, no steel or other metals, so you'd even need to pull out the little steel vacuum stem on the rear surge tank. Any metal present besides Aluminum will contaminate the plater's anodizing bath, this ****** them off, and costs you $.
2. It has to be chemically clean, inside and out, which means a full media blast, then chemical cleaning, which the plater will do. Unfortunately, with castings, the polishing and cleaning processes will often expose areas of porosity and/or of differing alloy content, which will affect the appearance if you are wanting a color added to the process.
3. If you're thinking about anything but a clear anodize, be aware that Aluminum castings don't always take color evenly, the color may be splotchy and uneven, Silicon inclusions will show up like a sore thumb, and be a pin hole in the coating.
4. It helps to know the alloy, most platers will not put unknown materials in their baths for fear of contamination.
5. Most platers these days have a lot charge, so you might pay a $100 lot charge whether your 5 parts will fit in one hand, or in one box. Colors often add cost. I'd guess that because of the size of the parts, you'd be looking at $200 for plating, plus cleaning.
The main issue for me is that anodizing doesn't confer a whole lot of corrosion protection, especially with castings where the coating can be dis-continuous (pin holes), this gets ugly in the underhood environment with it's regular temperature extremes and exposure to moisture. If it does come out nice, it will only be pretty for a short period of time.
One word: Powdercoat.
