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Lightweight finishing for aluminum

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cluttonfred

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OK, let's imagine that I am scratch building an all-metal design from plans and I want to keep things light and cheap and simple. What is the minimal corrosion protection and finishing needed, inside and out, for a sheet-metal plane? Let's divide it up in to three categories:

1) External aluminum

2) Internal aluminum

3) Non-aluminum (mostly 4130 C-M steel controls and fittings)

Alodine? Primer? Paint? Polishing? For paint, I would prefer something water-based if at all possible, otherwise I would probably have it done by someone else. For polishing, if it requires constant upkeep, then that's a non-starter, but once a year I could live with. For the metal fittings, do I need something exotic or will a good scrubbing with degreaser, some self-etching primer and enamel all from the local hardware store do the job?

Cheers,

Matthew
 
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