THE RIGHT ALUMINUM ALLOY FOR THE RIGHT ANODIZING FINISH
We offer this Aluminum Alloy Reference to help SAF customers match specific alloys choices with anodizing finishing advice. Source: Aluminum Anodizers Council (AAC) Technical Bulletin #2-94, Aluminum Alloy Reference for Anodizing, issued March, 1994.
| Aluminum Alloy Series (AA)* | Alloying Constituents | Metal Properties | Anodized Coating Properties | Uses | A.Q.** Types | Non-A.Q.** Types | Aluminum Alloy Finishing Advice |
| 1XXX | none | soft, conductive | clear, bright | cans, architectural | none | 1100, 1175 | Care should be taken when racking this soft material good for bright coatings susceptible to etch, staining |
| 2XXX | Copper | very strong, hard, low elongation | yellow, poor protection | aircraft, mechanical | none | 2011, 2017, 2219, 2224 | Since copper content is >2%, these produce yellow, poor weather-resistant coatings. Don’t mix with other alloys on load |
| 3XXX | Manganese | strong, small grain | grayish-brown | cans, architectural, lighting | none | 3003, 3004 | Difficult to match sheet-to-sheet (varying degrees of gray / brown). Used extensively for architectural painted products |
| 4XXX | Silicon | strong, fluid | dark gray | architectural, lighting | none | 4043, 4343 | Produces heavy black smut which is hard to remove 4043 & 4343 used for architectural dark gray finishes in past years |
| 5XXX | Magnesium | strong, ductile, fluid | clear, good protection | architectural, welding wire, lighting | 5005, 5657 | 5052, 5252 | for 5005 – keep silicon <0.1% and magnesium between 0.7% and 0.9%, maximum of +/- 20% for job watch for oxide streaks |
| 6XXX | Magnesium & Silicon | strong, ductile | clear, good protection | architectural, structural | 6063, 6463 | 6061, 6101 | Matte – iron >0.2%, bright – iron <0.1%, 6063 best match for 5005, 6463 best for chemical brightening |
| 7XXX | Zinc | very strong | clear, good protection | automotive | none | 7029, 7046, 7075 | Zinc over 5% will produce brown, tinted coatings, watch zinc in effluent stream, good for bright coatings |
This information used by permission of the AAC