Scratched Up Enclosure

[msmith]

So this isn't an electronic repair per se, but in the realm and I'm assuming amongst the forum there will be some wisdom.
  I just got 2 Bud Enclosures from Mouser for some preamps I'm making, and was slightly disappointed/surprised at all of the surface scratching and marring present. Is this normal? I'm fairly new with the enclosure side of things. What are some good ways to clean and prep these guys up for use? Ideally, I was expecting that they would already be fairly clean and scratch free. These are aluminum enclosures, and I will not be painting them. Just baking on toner transfer graphics(Lazertran) and clear coating.
Thanks!

 

[crochambeau]

I have a bunch of bent Bud aluminium enclosures, I got them surplus (so, they'd all been stored in some fashion for years) and yes, they *all* exhibit imperfections - certainly pinch brake "scuff" along all edges. Having worked with metal in a limited degree, it's tough maintaining a perfect mill finish. For unpainted I would suggest considering a media blast to mat the surface into a uniform look (after all cutting).

Just bear in mind aluminium is a very soft metal, and simply dropping your keys on the box will probably leave a mark. I know that after I punch holes and configure a box for my needs, small factory imperfections are usually dwarfed by imperfections of my own.