Anodizing cannot peel off. The coating is actually part of the metal. Anodizing gives aluminum a deeper, richer metallic appearance than is possible with organic coatings. This is because an anodized coating is translucent, and one can see the base metal underneath the coating. This translucence contributes to color variation problems, but anodizers are doing a much better job of controlling the amount of color variation than in the past.
Computerized color matching with quantitative, objective color data is now possible.
Anodizing is unaffected by sunlight. All organic coatings will eventually fail due to exposure to ultra-violet light. In 1988 the Aluminum Anodizer's Council was formed by a group of anodizers who were concerned that the market was unaware of the benefits of anodizing. The paint manufacturers were comparing excellent paint to poor anodizing. It was no longer common knowledge in the commercial construction industry that there is a difference between good and bad anodizing.