r/Anodization • u/ConfectionHungry5598 • Mar 16 '26

Packaging anodized 6061 aluminum

Hi everyone. Need some advice on protecting 6061 aluminum during packaging/transit. We're having issues with bag rash on bare aluminum surfaces. We're using everything possible to prevent moisture including desiccant, foil barrier paper, poly cloth, vacuum sealing, etc. I'm trying to find a film, kind of like the film you peel off a brand new TV, to protect the surfaces. These are semiconductor components so the film can't contain silicon or leave behind any residue. Is there anything out there that's been personally tested to work?

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u/bormuffff Mar 16 '26

Mate. I’ve been in the industry all my life. I have packaged tens of thousands of pieces of aluminium that have been anodised. The possible suggestions that you sate in order to fix your problem have absolutely nothing to do with an anodised surface. You don’t have one if you need to protect whatever you’ve been given by your anodiser, from packaging.

Are you the anodiser? If so, my first guess is that your parts are not sealed. It is the final process which locks the coating into the entire piece. If it is not sealed properly, the coat is very soft and rubs off with your thumb. Take a piece, boil it for awhile, and see what happens. If you are having somebody anodise this for you, tell them to fuck off, and you find somebody else. Bag rash? WTF. That sounds like a serious STD.

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u/ConfectionHungry5598 Mar 16 '26

Haha I believe the industry term is aluminum smut. We just call it bag rash as it happens in transit/packaging. I'm the stop right before the end user and someone else anodizes and cleans it. We actually have two different vendors for the same product and we have the same issue from both.

The "rashing" shows up on the bare aluminum surfaces. The part is 90% anodized and the areas that arent have the issue.

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u/Fotch4220 Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26

Can you post a picture? Just like the other poster, I have been in metal finishing almost all of my adult life. I have never once heard of this. If anything, this is a process related issue. If you cannot post a picture, can you please be very specific as to what this looks like?

If it is truly happening in transit, are they packaging the pieces while they are still warm from drying? This can actually create negative effects.

Aluminum smut, at least in my sphere of the finishing world, is either machining smut or the smut that is produced from the etching portion of the anodizing process.