Hi all,

I'm getting my dedicated service rifle build rolling and my lowers just left the engravers (Thanks Tar Heel!).

My question is will my engravings survive Anodizing? I would like type 3 but US Anodizing is so goddamn expensive. If you guys know another source for type 3 please let me know.

Here's my engravings:

they'll be fine. Anodizing won't fill in the surface imperfections so it won't fill in your engravings at all.
Nice job on the engraving by the way

Do you have any recommendations for an anodizer?

Anodizimg won't hurt your engraving one bit, and I could show you a Type III anodized receiver and a properly Type II anodized receiver and you wouldn't be able to tell them apart even if I gave you a carbide scribe to scratch and gouge at them with. Without lab testing nobody can. Type II is just fine.

I might end up doing type II just because I've only found one company doing type III and they're very expensive.

Looks great! Cant wait to see this finished.

personally, I've found Cerakote a better option. Anodizing costs a lot... if you're lucky, you can get in for a minimum lot charge and places often don't like to deal with gun parts.
I hear US Andozing is the way to go if you really want anodizing

I guess my question is do you just wanted it anodized because that's what the big boys run, or are you looking for the best pro?

I have blasted anodizing off rifles and recoated with spray and bake finishes for a few years now.  Not one ever fell apart from lack of anodizing.  So really unless you just gotta have it, to reproduce some mil-spec build, why worry about it.  

It sounds to me like you don't like the price for the service.  Then I'd say piss on it, get it cerakoted.  

At the end of the day, it's not an actual military service rifle, right?  It's your interpretation of one.  So if you didn't use the exact same mil-spec finish, meh.

Anodizing only affects the first 0.003" of the surface.  So you're talking a change of the width of a human hair.