Would this be feasible on the iron they use, and would it provide durability/rust resistance benefits?
Would it cost much extra as well?
Anodization involves converting the surface of the metal to it’s oxide. Aluminum oxide is a very hard, stable material. Iron oxide is better known as rust…
Well, there is also the blueing process used on guns. I think it would cost more compared to paint, and it’s still not rust proof.
Bluing / black-oxiding are cheaper than dirt. They don’t protect the steel nearly as well as primer/paint and they look crappy when applied to large surfaces (not even).
Yeah, but isn’t it a long process to properly do also?
Never actually done it myself. I know there’s different ways to do it also
Many cars have aluminum body panels, to which you can anodize like you'd anodize aluminum flashlights. The problem with this and your "iron" panels is that not all panels are metal. Specifically, bumpers are plastic. That's going to cause two different types of surface treatments.
I had just read up on bluing again. There’s hot and cold bluing, then the process I was thinking of as labor intensive. It’s the old process of chemically rusting the steel and scrubbing off the rust…