What kind of performance difference can be other then grinding? Like scratches and things like that.
Raw is going to tarnish faster, and I believe the bearing seat remains in better shape longer when anodized.
Letâs assume youâre talking about anodized yoyos. The âcoatingâ does not improve grinds. A surface preparation does that (ie. One Drop pyramatte, media blast such as bead or soda blast). Yoyos are anodized (which is not a coating, really) for durability. The anodize layer indeed prevents scratching and allows the yoyo to have colour. Without the anodize step, no colour dye can get locked in.
You can also get yoyos that are indeed coated, mind you⌠powder coated yoyos arenât currently offered at the retail level by any manufacturer I can think of, but you can have a yoyo powder coated. That would be for a combination of looks and durability as well.
There have been painted yoyos before, but theyâre not likely to have durability compared to anodize or powder coat. Still, some serious collectibles have been painted.
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This yes I have confusion about coat and anodized yoyos thank for clearing. And does this means raw yoyos are anodized?
What do you mean by tarnish? What happens to bearing seat in raw yoyos this?
If you are talking about aluminum, if not coated to prevent o2 from interacting with the surface all aluminum will âanodizeâ. Color is not mandatory for the anodizing process but it is aesthetically pleasing.
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A raw yoyo is exactly that, just raw metal with no anodising added. Hereâs a close up photo of my raw Gleipnir:
You can see that itâs just the raw machining marks. The problem with this, as mrciurleo pointed out, is over time it will tarnish as itâs exposed to the air (similarly to how iron rusts). Also theyâre very susceptible to getting all grubby with fingerprints and need cleaning fairly regularly to keep them shiny.
Tarnishing looks kinda like this (granted these are car alloys, but theyâre still aluminium so it gives you an idea)
http://i50.tinypic.com/349clz6.jpg
With regards to the bearing seats, if you think of the oxidisation of aluminium like rust, then you can imagine that it wouldnât take much ârustâ on a bearing seat (which are normally tight already) to become a nightmare when it came to getting bearings on and off, which could end up damaging the seat itself. Having the bearing seat anodised stops the bearing seat getting all ârusted upâ and therefore helps minimise the risk of damage to it. 
So performance wise, the difference is minimal. Really the main draw of raw yo-yos is their shiny-ness (which can be further enhanced by polishing), which they seem to love over in Japan. The drawback is that they require a bit more maintenance than anodised yo-yos, and obviously donât grind well at all.
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I think âoxidizeâ is the word youâre intending.
Absolutely. No anode used there.
all my raw dif-e-yos have yet to tarnish - barebones, zzzip-fly, sportster, tank, wide load. iâve used them in the rain, snow - doesnât really matter. no tarnish marks. which makes me think it depends on the material and/or quality of the manufacturinâ process. Mr. Difeo would know best.
the bearinâ seat on all my OG dif-e-yos are still intact. there are some marks from the bearinâ, but nothinâ that would affect play, imho.
my juggernaut and rev-1 overhaul are mil-Spec type III hard anodized. the surface resists scratches, as iâve had first hand experience just wipinâ them off. of course, the anodized finish is not impenetrableâŚas i have dinged them both
mgodinez
sunnyâŚ
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I have 4 ârawâ yoyos - 3 dif-e-yos and a duncan metal FH. Iâve had them for years and none show any sign of oxidation, and the bearing seats look very good, almost new. The car wheel example is an extreme example as they are subjected to extremely harsh conditions of road salt and other grime. If you treat your yoyos that way I just donât understand.
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