"Roger" wrote in message
...

"I don't think Alu is effected by water anyway so I don't need to worry if
it rains."

Aluminium is affected by water, and will oxidise. The reason people think
it isn't is that aluminium oxide is not very water soluable, unlike rust.
However, it is softer, will flake off, expose un-oxidised aluminium, etc.
If you have had the paint/lacquer scraped, please don't ignore it, and try a
bit of touch up paint. For small scratches a good nail varnish isn't too
bad.

T.T.F.N.

SPENNY