[TowerTalk] Protecting Aluminum Antennas

[jimlux]

On 3/18/16 4:06 PM, Roger (K8RI) on TT wrote:
> Is there anything that will keep an antenna shiny and bright, besides
> not putting it up?
> I have often heard clear Krylon mentioned, but from my experience, it is
> very short lived.  Three coats, allowed to dry between coats only lasted
> a few months if that.
> Around here (central MI) the shiny Al turns to a dull finish in a month
> or two.
>
> Alodyne does last and looks good, if you like a shiny gold color and
> have both time and ambition.  I have used Alodyne on aircraft elevator
> hinges.  It's a very labor intensive (tedious) process. The antenna
> would certainly stand out.
>

There's  variety of chemical conversion coatings in all manner of 
colors; one of them must be "silver".

   You might look at what they use for mirrors used with solar 
collectors: it's important that they stay high reflectivity.  It might 
be some sort of clear aluminum oxide coating that's formed by carefully 
controlling the oxidation process.