Unprotected aluminum can get ugly pretty quickly. So, If you like to polish your drum shell(s) on a pretty regular basis, then leave it be. I'd rather play than polish any day.

[COLOR="DarkRed"]What's the advantage of anodizing over clear-coating, or is it the same thing ? (oof, sorry in advance...I don't usually do metal shells) [/COLOR]

Anodizing is like a clear plating, it becomes part of the metal.

Anodizing is purely electrical in nature, whereas powder coating uses electricity to get the powder (paint) onto the surface, after which it's baked on.

Each has it's pro's and con's, depending on the application. Bottom line here is that you need to have someone who knows what they are doing apply the finish. You can get a bad powder coat job just as easily as a bad anodizing job.

If I wanted to clearcoat a polished aluminum shell, I might go for anodizing. However, the shell would need to be nearly flawless and polished to a high luster. ANY imperfection in the shell will show through the clear anodized finish, just as it will with clear powder coating.

With colored powder coating, it's a bit more forgiving. Yes, a dent or ding will still show up, but a variance in color on the shell would not. When I built my Blackrolite Beauty, the powder coating tech told me to sand out any of the deep pits, dings, etc... but that tiny surface scratches and color variations would not come through.

There were several spots on the shell where you could see a difference in color (darker grey areas), but you couldn't feel them when running your hands over the area.

For my application, powder coating was the way to go. For a clear coat, anodizing might be a better choice. I have another vintage acro shell which I haven't decided what to do with yet - Maybe I'll polish the heck out of it and try a clear anodizing this time.