I'm thinking of buying a new frame, and there are both powder coat and anodised paint finishes as options.
I'm thinking of longevity. I've had painted/powder coated bikes in the past and they're reasonably hard wearing finishes, in the sense i know what to expect from them, but whats an anodised frame like in comparison?
I'm concerned that should i buy an anodised frame and it needs refurbing at some point it'll be a pain in the backside.
Had numerous powder coated frames and 4 anodised frames and would go for the powder coat, at least if you scratch it or chip the paint you can touch it up, scratch or ding anodising and it stays that way.
I have to say that the anodising on my Pace 305 is quite good. Its had a good few rocks etc bounce off the down tube and it`s still fine. 
I'd steer clear of anodising, friend found you can't stick protective tape on the finish. You soon get a very badly marked frame on uplifts with no protection.
I got a raw frame from intense,didn't think I'd like it as it didn't picture well,but it looks great in the flesh and I don't have to worry about marks etc
My bike is anodised 'bronze', apparently the toughest finish Nicolai do. And 100g lighter than a paintjob.
To date- totally unscathed apart from the bb area where I suffer from chainsuck issues periodically. I stuck bike film in all the usuall places- and alll the film is still very much in place. Bike is now 2 1/2 yrs old, has had a hammerring and is still looking good.
I've got a raw frame too. Don't sweat on one.
why stains?
one of the things I like is that it has imperfections and marks etc
I've got used to the imperfections and stains...but you should see the difference between the down tube and the blotchy top tube. I may sweat pure alcohol and musk dew though.
I'd pick anodising over paint/powder coat any day. Much more hard wearing and dead easy to make it look like new after months of neglect with a quick wash, then a wipe down with a cloth soaked in GT85 or similar. If you go for a black finish you can use a marker pen as touch up!
I'd steer clear of anodising, friend found you can't stick protective tape on the finish
If you degrease the area you want to put the tape on and heat the tape up before applying, you won't have any issues applying protective tape, i.e. 3 years on and the helicopter tape is still where stuck it with no sign of it letting go.
The toughest finishes available are hard and then standard anodising. After 2 years, my hard ano Maverick frame looks 99.99% new.
Anodizing is the way to go. There's no paint to chip or scratch, it's a treatment to the surface of the alloy. Tape has stuck to all of mine in the past
I quite like rust.
rust?
I do have a few deep scratches and dings on my black ano Giant, but you don't get the rubbed-away effect you get with paint so it's not bad. Powder-coats look nice IMO.
Yeah why not? Bare metal looks hot & you don't have to worry about scratching your paint.
But if we're talking about anodizing, we're talking about aluminium alloys, which don't rust. They do oxidise, which is tougher than the base alloy and when treated is pretty much what anodising is.
Perhaps the most "easy care" finish for alloy is ball burnished. Will dull eventually but really easy to bring it back up.
Hmm valid points. to be honest, i much prefer the anodised finish on the frame i'm considering. I've also seen a raw one, which i also like the sound of!
so, raw or anodised it is i think.
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