Testing coatings for flashlights ...

[wquiles]

I was able to do a batch and coat the sample for you. Shipping out today

Cool, thanks for the heads-up

Will

 

[Patriot]

Great thread! Amazing how well the newer finishes hold up compared to powder coat. I was surprised at how well the typeII anodizing held up as well. I suspect that typeIII would perform very well in this style of test?

 

[wquiles]

I suspect that typeIII would perform very well in this style of test?

Type III is a transformation of the outer surface of the Aluminum, not a coating (like Moly Resin, Cerakote, etc.), although I still consider HAIII the best, and why SureFire uses it on pretty much all of their lights.

However, you can't easily/safely do HAIII at home, which is why I have excluded HAIII from this evaluation. From the stuff you can easily/safely do at home, and based on my testing, I recommend Moly Resin and Cerakote.

Will

 

[wquiles]

I was able to do a batch and coat the sample for you. Shipping out today

Got the Cerakote plate to test with. I was waiting to get yours to do mine, so that it would be of similar size/shape. I will get mine ready over the weekend, and coat it with Moly Resin next week, so that I can do a proper A vs. B test.

Thanks,
Will

 

[wquiles]

I got my plate sandblasted and coated yesterday. Testing will start soon. Yes, I have been taking pictures along the process

Will

 

[gt40]

I got my plate sandblasted and coated yesterday. Testing will start soon. Yes, I have been taking pictures along the process

Will

Thanks again for doing this... I can't wait!

 

[wquiles]

OK, so here is some data on the impact testing using hardened steel balls. These are the two ball sizes I used (3/4" and 1"):

On top the plate from gt40, on bottom right the one I found similar in size/shape, although thinner:

Here my plate has been sand blasted and heated to remove cleaning solvents/etc. - the one in Moly Resin was painted Flat Black:

Here is my experiment/setup. In order to prevent the falling steel ball from hitting the plate more than once, I have the plates at a slight angle. As I drop each steel ball from each rung in the ladder, I made a note in the plate for each ball:

L - refers to the "lighter" steel ball (3/4" diameter)
H - refers to the "heavy" steel ball (1" diameter)
1 - First rung at 11"
2 - Second rung at 21"
3 - Third rung at 32"
4 - Top of the ladder: 56"
5 - Drop from the edge of the garage door = 83"

So 4L means from the 4th drop position, using the light weight ball, and 5H means a drop from position 5, using the heavy steel ball.


And here are the photos from the experiments (Grey - Cerakote ; Black - Moly Resin):

Close up on Cerakote plate:

Close up on Moly Resin plate:

Close-up on the highest drop with the heavy steel ball:

I did not see/detect any peeling/flaking off. It seems that at least for this simple test, both finishes protect the Aluminum really well. The only thing I can note is in the colors used - the black seems to hide the indentations a little bit better than the Grey.

Maybe the steel balls are too "smooth" to cause significant damage?

Will

 

[will]

Are the 3 plates the same aluminum alloy - 6061 ?

 

[wquiles]

Are the 3 plates the same aluminum alloy - 6061 ?

There were only two plates tested: mine (6061) with Moly Resin, and the one gt40 sent. I don't know, but I suspect it is also 6061.

Will

 

[will]

I looked at the first picture which has 3 plates. It seems that one plate had deeper indentations, which would seem to indicate a softer aluminum.

Is the coating dented? or is the aluminum dented as well?

 

[wquiles]

When looking side by side at the two tested plates, the indentations look to me about the same, but they are easier to see in the grey color.

The Aluminum in all cases was dented, with deeper impressions the heavier the steel ball, and the higher the drop.

The purpose of the test was to see if impact testing would affect how Cerakote or Moly Resin protects the metal, and so far I can't see the coating peeling off in any of the dents.

I will try to look tomorrow with my good 10x loupe to see if I can detect any damage under higher magnification.

Will

 

[wquiles]

OK guys, here are some macro photos of the 5H drop on each plate.

First the Moly Resin, then the Cerakote:

Then macro pictures of the actual impact area. First Moly Resin and then Cerakote:

Will

 

[gt40]

Will:

The plate I sent was 6061. Thanks again for doing this. Love the macro btw. It confirms the ability of these finishes to elongate rather than chip. Looks good in both cases:thumbsup:

OK guys, here are some macro photos of the 5H drop on each plate.

First the Moly Resin, then the Cerakote:

Then macro pictures of the actual impact area. First Moly Resin and then Cerakote:

Will

 

[cpassuel]

Hello Will,

First of all, thanks for this thread, it's very interesting and very informative.

I'm wondering if you made some tests in salt water to see how it could behave in the sea ? I'm thinking to use this kind of coating for an homemade diving lamp.

 

[wquiles]

Wow, older thread resurrected

Even the picture links don't work!


To answer the question, coatings were not tested against salt water. I however would have zero reservations on using either one of these baked finishes around salt water.

Will

 

[gt40]

I would like to see UV resistance testing. I have had some lights on the front of the raptor and there is some fading - or maybe it is road dirt. They were made around the start of this thread and done in the same grey as the piece I sent in to Will for this test.

 

[DragonHead]

Cerakote has some great test results on their site....

 

[D2000]

Actually I've been thinking about electroplating my bare metal flashlights with copper. I know it's not super durable but the ability to replate it and buff it up any time I like would be the benefit.

I wonder if it would be possible to electroplating the whole host sealed.

 

[HarryN]

Nice testing and data - Thank you.

In the past I was looking at some coatings. One common method is to use a sharp sand and water mixture in a tumbler (or a special washing machine). The downside, is that very few coatings can survive it for even 15 minutes.

I like that moly coating - very convenient material if it can be re-used like that.