How to protect your gear from turning black from Aluminum?
I have an aluminum top box, anything you put inside it gets blackened from the bare aluminum.
My attempts: -Lined the inside with a self adhesive clear poly film which was about 6mil thick. This works but the the film wears through quickly from items bouncing in the box and didn't last. -Spray painted a rubberized coating that is used for automotive applications. As with the film liner, it wears quickly and has started to peel where it has worn. -My goto is an old helmet bag, I put items inside the bag to protect them and not worry about the bag. This works but you can't find things as quickly if they were just in the box. Anyone have luck with a particular product to coat the inside of an aluminum box or pannier? thanks brian |
Maybe try a cheap closed-cell foam sleeping mat that you can get for a few bucks? Cut a bottom and a long piece that you use to line the walls. It's soft and chushioning, should do the trick!
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Are you able to get it powder coated in a clear lacquer? If there are no plastic parts it should be doable - you may have to mask off certain parts. Beware of trying to powder coat over paint - it really doesn’t work and if you have any doubts then use a spray lacquer coating.
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Lining aluminium panniers
I solved this problem by using thin strong mat, sold for car interiors. Cut to required shape and glued in place. make cut-outs for bolts. For the bottom I used a removable piece of an old sleeping mat on one side. The other bottom I used a thin plywood, with a finger hole, covered with a bit of car mat. this makes a false bottom, which has proved very useful for hiding that which must remain hidden. The whole job was much less hassle than you would think, and has worked very well.
Peter, in Oslo, and it's snowing today |
Great ideas. thank you all. I never considered making a false bottom, I can see it being useful.
thanks brian |
If you are gluing a false bottom in or spraying a clear lacquer or powder coating it then preparation is key - sorry, I couldn't resist the pun - and that means ensuring that the surface is grease and dust free - the results will last longer and will look better.
Alternatively use a bin bag or make some pannier liners with handles - these will also make unloading at a hotel / hostel a lot quicker and will reduce any issues if there is a slight leak in the pannier. Liners look a lot classier at reception than bin bags though! |
Anodizing is a very simple, dirt cheap and easy process - also for the DIYer (I have never tried anodizin large aluminium items). It will leave a thin layer that is much harder than the aluminium. It doesn't crack or chafe, nor does it rub off or "rust".
You will need:
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You could if you want, anodice the item with color - i.e. in the color of your bike. This method can be used to remove paint or rust from metal - leaving a rust protective layer - which is the only thing I have used this method for - even on items as large as a pannier. I have never anodiced aluminium. For your intents and purposes, you might only want to anodise the inside of the pannier. In this case you would drop the container and only fill up the pannier (which you would have to set on a non conductive material, like a rubber mat). I don't think lining your bags with anything that is not perfectly smooth, puncture free or waterproof - is a good idea. Water, smells, oils, dirt - will be absorbed into it - and cleaning it will be a hasstle. Another option is to look into "helicopter tape" (automotive protection film). This stuff was invented to put on helicopter rotors leading edge to preserve them for all the dirt and grit that pass through them on landing and take offs - significantly reducing the frequency for which rotors need to be replaced. It is tough, is applied and removed easily, and stretches to contours. You can buy it in sheets or tape forms. It is clear. It's not prohibitively expensive. Personally, I think I would have tried this route first - unless you can find a very thorough instructional video on anodizing panniers - and that is easily replicable to you. If you go down the anodizing route - be very certain that you do not hook up the wires incorrectly - or you will sacrifice your panniers and be left with a beutfylly anodised led plate. If you go down the anodizing route - the mix of electrical output, time or ammount of electrolyte will vary. If power or electrolyte is weak, you will require more time. It can therefore be a good idea to start easy and add a stronger solution of electrolyte and/or increase electrical output if you see no results after a day or two, and even more on day three or four, and so on. Maybe you have a perfect result in a matter of hours, maybe it will take a week. In any case, go onto youtube and research. |
Thank you Wheelie, but it sounds like anodizing is well beyond my ability and facility to do the work. Good suggestion about other methods holding smells or dampness.
I do like the idea of helicopter tape. I will research this idea. brian |
Whatever your solution, please report back and let us know how it worked out. I have always had OEM bags 7nside, so never had the problem
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After checking pricing on Amazon for Helicopter tape, I found a used BMW top box liner on Kijiji for less.
Going with the BMW liner.. thank you all brian |
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Given how much effort goes into producing hard panniers, nevermind how much aftermarket versions cost, you'd think the manufacturers would go to the trouble of anodising the interiors but it would seem we're all seduced by the outside, with the inside reduced to the category of 'functional space'. I have two sets of old glass fibre panniers amongst my collection and the insides still stink of resin years later. Put any clothes in them and they come out smelling of resin even inside plastic bags, something that never used to go down well with female pillions. Who wants to change into clean clothes and smell like a glass fibre foundry for the next few hours. |
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On my Moto Guzzi the panniers are alumium and they have been coated on the inside - plus they have lining bags that are excellent. |
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I've always wanted black gear.
Shaft. John Shaft. Right on. |
Buy 1-2mm plastic sheets. Very cheap.
Cut them out to fit your box and glue them in with contact adhesive. Problem solved. Or buy/find/make a bag that fits inside your box that you can just lift out. That's what the manufacturers usually sell as a solution. |
Thin rubber mat on the inside, vinyl wrap on the outside. Costs next to nothing.
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I use the sticker-like shelf liner sheets that you get for kitchen shelves. Cheap and effective.
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Basically you are right and why I did anodizing years ago, here is what I remember about the process. And it´s also the reason why I would never do it again by myself with panniers. Surfaces are too big and the shape of them is too complicated for surface handling. For panniers the goal must be to reach a really thick anodized coating because otherwise thin anodzing films will be damaged outside by scratches/dust/sand and inside through rubbing of load easily. Before you can start to anodize all metall area need to be clean, sanded and polished. Every kind of existing surface coating like paint or little scratches will ruin your results. When you work with Sodium hydroxide and with Sulfuric acid you have to take safety measures. You will need a good ventilated room because during the process Oxyhydrogen will be produced which is higly inflammable and explosive. After sanding and polishing you clean the metall surface with a mixture of destilled water and drain cleaner (Sodium hydroxide) which you normally use in your household. You can buy special and expensive products for metall surface cleaning and the advantage is that they keep the ph factor leveled. Which will influence the quality of the anodizing process. Also you use Sodium hydroxide to remove an anodization layer if you failed. A destilled water bath will be needed after every process for cleaning the surface. Sulfuric acid will be the fluid for anodizing, it´s nothing else than battery acid which always contains 37,5% of Sulfuric acid. For anodization a percentage of 15-20% is needed, so you have to mix it down with normal water. And of course you will need a colour for the coating. Down in the anodizing bath you use lead which is comes from the roofing business and can be bought in roles. This will be your cathode. For the anode best to use is a piece of titan in form of a stick. Also for fixating all metall piece you want to anodize you use titan wire. Why? Because all other metalls will react chemically or disolve in the process. For controlling the temperature of the anodizing fluid, you can use an air pump from a fish tank with a perforated tube. Temperature in fluid must kept under 20°C, if temperature gets higher the anodizing process fails. You can also use thermal packs for this because as colder the bath is as better will be the anodization result. You need a power supply which is stablized and used in laboratorys. Will cost you starting from 100€. You need a power supply at minimum of 200W++ and it must have the feature to hold a fixed amperage because the liquid resistance in the Sodium hydroxide will change during the process. If your power supply is not stabelized you have to measure resistance and correct the amperage constantly during the process. This is too complicated and a potential failure task. The formular for calculating amperage is: for 100 square centimeters of metall you need 1,5A per hour. Now think about the inside and ouside surface of panniers to calculate power and size of your power supply! If your power supply is under powered you have to extend the time of process which makes it more complicated. You also need titan wire to supply electric energy and their quadrat diameter has to be in relation to the needed amperage. |
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