While anodizing is easily stripped, it is not easily re-applied with good cosmetic results, which is why I like powder.
The best method is to strip powder chemically to avoid any damage to the part–and then only a light bead blast is needed right before coating for maximal adhesion. Many powder shops can do this, but not all. Here in California, environmental restrictions mean a lot of shops don’t want to deal with it so they tend to outsource it to shops specialized in chemical stripping. But in any case, it’s usually a pretty readily available service.
I don’t think so, I’m sorry to say. For some reason, the Heavy-6 is always the weakest seller of the lineup (likely because of the uncommon layout), so I’m always hesitant to order large batches. The couple of polycarb ones that I have left in the shop now (shipping in about a month or two) are likely to be the last ones in 2021.
In that genre, I do have two solid copper Heavies-6 with a clear coated verdiris patina finish. They’ve been done for many months; I just need to photograph them and post them for sale at some point. I think those are the only units in this design that I still have on hand though.
2 or 3 years ago, I called the Heavy-6 Monolith my endgame. And it’s held up to that moniker. I’ve been perfectly content since purchase with zero new keyboard purchases. It is everything I wanted in a keyboard, and still is.
It’s rare to find a product like that. To anyone on the fence about a Norbauer product, I’d definitely recommend any of his keyboards.
Copper is easy to machine but the material itself is inherently stupidly expensive relative to aluminum.
