Alu, that is not anodised will hold up pretty well fro quite a long time.

For many years I have used non-anodised spi poles and booms and apart from turning a darker variant of gray nothing else happens in the first few years.

In my opinion you can go with it unanodised, although anodising will extent the lifespan from say 10 years to 20 years.

Wouter


Wouter Hijink
Formula 16 NED 243 (one-off; homebuild)
The Netherlands