MichelleJD

I've done some searching (here and Google) and have read everything from "it's simple" to "it's hard to get good results." Anyone here have any experience with aluminum anodizing? Will calipers/cam towers/etc take anodizing well (I know different aluminum alloys react differently)? What is a good masking agent (for two tone)? Can anyone help me out? TIA

Geo

I don't do it, but I looked into it. We thought about doing our own for my business. I quickly came to the conclusion that it was nasty enough to hand to someone else. I know it doesn't answer you question. I assume you've looked into it enough to know the nasty chemicals involved.

M758

One of the buildings in my company does anodizning. Not fun place. Lots of big tanks with nasty chemicals. One error and you can fully burn up a part in the tanks. No fun.

I would not want to have those chemicals at home and then try to apply a current and get it right. Nope... not for me.

Rich Sandor

Ask Travis from rennbay. i remember reading that he did it or something.

Jfrahm

What about powdercoating? There are some home kits for that, and you can often get an old oven for free.

-Joel.

KuHL 951

Ask and you shall receive.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/aluminum.htm

MichelleJD

I've already seen that site, I researched the "wherefor's and how-to's" yesterday. I was actually hoping for a response from those that have tried it to see what kind of results they've had. Anyone?

Red1

It's simple in theory, difficult in execution for a home chemist.

Identifying the alloy of the part to be anodized is critical. The wrong solution can literally corrode the submerged parts like alka seltzer.

I can't answer the question about the masking agent. I'm assuming you desire two or more colors on the same part. Dunno if that can be done, but I know who to ask. They're just at lunch right now, I just tried to call them.

In short, my recommendation would be powder-coating. Much cheaper, less fuss, less mess. Reasonably durable, and it's easier to repair a scratch on a powder coated item than on an anodized one. It's also easier to predict the final color from paint vs anodizing.

I'll sell in excess of $15 million in metals this year, and some of my special contract items are anodized aluminum.

Travis - sflraver

Anodizing is easy. Here it is in a nutshell.

What you will need..

something made of lead
some aluminum wire to hang your piece
some battery acid
a battery charger
plastic tub

Dilute the battery acid at about 1:3 (acid to water)
Put the mixture in the plastic tub
hang your piece by the aluminum wire so its not touching the bottom of the tub but is fully in the fluid.
Attach the lead to another piece of aluminum wire. This can sit on the bottom.
Hook up the battery charger on 2 amps for anywhere from 10min to 30min.
The positive goes to the piece and the neg goes to the lead
After the piece is anodized you must "finish" it. Take it out and boil it in a mild salt water solution. This is also the time to add dye if you want it colored.
Some notes:
Use scrap pieces first to play with.
Try different amps and times on the battery charger. I personally like 20amps for about 7min. for small pieces.
Make sure your hanging wire is clean. If you reuse it remember that the anodized surface becomes somewhat non-conductive and must be scraped away before each reuse.
Getting the correct dye is a bit tricky. They have special "anodizing" dyes. Find them, use them. They are not cheap but they do a much better job than RIT.
Oh, and don't blow your self up. Vapors may be flammable due to the battery acid. Do it outdoors and don't blame me for anything that goes wrong.

Travis - sflraver

The weird colored ones were the learning curve on dyeing them. The blue one was the finished result. I anodized all the throttle cams myself when I was making them. Did it with a crude setup just like is listed above.

MichelleJD

Thanx Travis. Looks good. Nice work

macnewma

Do a search on Mumzer and Control Arms and you will see what can happen if it goes awry.

Is it really that expensive or do you have a large batch of parts?

Max

MichelleJD

I was just looking for some winter projects while my car is down and was going to anodize some small parts just to spruce things up. I've read there is a way to anodize in two tone. There's a great site on the web that makes it look easy. Yeah. Right. I was just looking to see how hard it really is. I may get some scrap stuff and try my hand to see how it comes out.

macnewma

Give powdercoating a shot. If you get good at it, maybe I will make a trip up to Chicago to use your skills.

http://www.columbiacoatings.com/

Max

Crackhead944S

I found this a long time ago. You may have see it before as I have posted it in other threads....

http://www.focuser.com/anodize.html

And no I have yet to try it.