Our front panels are anodized aluminum, with engraved labels. The stock SK-1DI mic preamp kit comes
According to Wikipedia, Anodizing is an electrolytic passivation process used to increase the thickness of the natural oxide layer on the surface of metal parts.
The process is called anodizing because the part to be treated forms the anode electrode of an electrical circuit. Anodizing increases resistance to corrosion and wear, and provides better adhesion for paint primers and glues than does bare metal. Anodic films can also be used for a number of cosmetic effects, either with thick porous coatings that can absorb dyes or with thin transparent coatings that add interference effects to reflected light.
Basically, our front panels are not “painted”… paint that over the course of time, may chip and flake off. The color of our panels are inherent in the aluminum surface itself. (If the surface is milled, for example via engraving process, then the bare aluminum color shows up.)
Which brings to our next point… the labels on our front panels are engraved… less than the width of a human hair deep. This means, the labels on our front panels will not ever fade away or the silkscreen get rubbed off. The only way you can scratch off these labels is with an angle-grinder.
