Hello Kevin,
There is no doubt in my mind that Alodine is the way to go!
It is so easy to use and vastly improves the life of the part treated.
Just normal u/coat and paint finish will adhere to it perfectly well -
but it can be left un-painted if you prefer.
When treated, the aluminium takes on a lovely, golden colour but I chose
to paint all my bits (and those on the aeroplane as well!)
Its about 14 years since I built G-RJWX and there are no signs anywhere
of corrosion on the ally parts. Sadly, there is a Classic locally that
had no Alodine treatment and all the flap and out-rigger brackets are
quite badly corroded. It will need a lot of work to correct it.
I bought from Henkel, in the London area somewhere. I also bought their
De-oxidant stuff (recommended prior to alodine treatment.) and they
delivered to me here in North Wales FOC. I bought 5 litres of each which
I think is the minimum they'll supply.
Just a tip if I may. If I were building another Europa (lovely thought
but I'm not as I'm now in my 83rd year!) I would gently radius all the
edges on all of the various brackets. They don't need to be sharp-edged
and paint doesn't stick to sharp corners. Use very fine (400 or more)
wet & dry paper to get a super-smooth finish to the edges, a good wash
with De-oxidant and then immerse in the alodine until you see that
golden colour (about 3 - 5 mins) rise under the tap and hang up to dry.
You'll love the results! (Sounds like an advert, doesn't it?)
Hope my ha'penny worth is useful - enjoy the rest of the build.
Regards,
Ron Jones.
I would go for the
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