[Gooserider]

I am not talking about annodizing an entire boat, however I am talking about annodizing marine fittings like cleats, lights, railing trim, etc. The parts look great when new, but after only a few months have developed pits and bubble where the anodizing has flaked away. What happens is that corrosion starts in any flaw, however microscopic, and then extends under the annodizing until it forms a bubble of corroded aluminum under the annodizing. The annodizing which is more brittle than the aluminum then breaks away, exposing the surface to more corrosion and the process continues on an accellerating basis.

As to 'rat bikes' and polishing, I figure that time is a finite resource, I can spend it on polishing, or on riding. I'd rather ride. I live in MA, and haven't owned a car since 1980. I've never missed a day of work due to bad weather when work was open. The road salt in that environment is hard on a vehicle, so polishing to show quality isn't really an option. Instead I go for award winning in the other direction.

As to scratching the interior, the damage which I mentioned on the Swifty block appeared to have been caused by simply installing the barbs. That is enough to scratch the annodizing and create a gap where corrosion can start. I don't have any hands on w/ Swiftech stuff, but they are supposed to be a relatively major company with a good reputation for quality. If they say they use blue annodizing I'm inclined to believe them.

Gooserider