ANODIZING EQUIPMENTS

Hows it going. i have been using the caswell anodizing kit for a few months now. Recently i have been doing parts for a friend’s gun, and the last run I did the parts came out of the acid tank a gold/tan color. Im keeping the tank around 70 degrees. The parts still took the black dye, really well.

Over the summer it sat out in my garage for a few weeks, It was 117 degrees out there. Would this have caused any problems?

I have been successfully anodizing machined parts 6061-t6 in black using the following process
- 6 amps/sq ft cd
- 1:2 acid to water ratio
- 69-72 degree bath temp
- 2 full hours in bath for 1mil build
- agitation using aquarium pump
- 140 degree dye
- nickel acetate sealer

So far my results have been great. My questions involve using a caustic etch to dull my surface a bit before anodizing. These are precision parts and it seems like just a short dip in the etch (30-45gr/liter) causes a .001" material removal from my parts. Is this typical of an etch? So far all I have been doing is cleaning the parts in simple green and hot water. Assuming I can etch the parts without removing too much material will the desmut remove any more material thickness? Any other way to achieve a matte finish? Thanks in advance for any input.

Hey guys, was doing a red and black fade gun today.
Started out at around 58 F, finished around 66 F for temperature.
The red came out fine, looked good. The black however was blotchy, barely taking, and blueish hue (often when not full ano).
I was wondering if the cold temperature had an effect, colder temp, smaller pores, harder for black?

Hello, I am new to electroplating and have been basically teaching myself in my spare time for a short while now. I started practicing on chrome plated drawer pulls I bought from the hardware store for a dollar each. After a few successful attempts I moved on to other projects and have finally started practicing on car parts. I am currently attempting to gold plate some chrome taillight bezels off a Cadillac. I stripped the chrome, the nickel finish looked brand new so no need for polish, and I went ahead with the gold. After I finished the first one I rinsed it good with distilled water. As I was drying it I pulled the gold right off it. I had read about this happening to other people but had never happened to me before in my earlier projects.I got discouraged and called it a day. The next day what gold was left on it was on very good so I decided I shouldn’t try to dry it off next time. I tried the second one for a fresh start. I rinsed it after I finished but left it on my work table wet. The next day it had huge areas of satin finish gold all over it. It looked etched or acid washed or something. It came back clean after removing the gold with metal polish, and I am now back to two nickel plated taillight bezels. I was going to try again today but this is becoming an expensive learning experience so I decided to ask for help here before I wasted more materials. What am I doing wrong?

for sale: Copy chrome wheel plating equipment. 2-35 gal tanks, 3- 20 gal tanks, 25amp rectifier, 2- QDTY10 heaters and comutorised controls, and 1-QDWS heater and controls. Also extra controls for all heaters.

I might be in the wrong frum for this but I’m desperately seeking for answer.
Can anybody suggest how can i remove aluminum coating (thru arc spray) on aluminum base material?
I tried sand blasting usng white aluminum oxide but the coating bond strength is really strong.
Chemical stripping without harming the base material? Did anybody try before?
Please advice. Thks!

I’m getting ready to start plating with my Copy Cad kit. I’m doing only nuts and bolts (mostly) and was hoping that somebody has already calculated surface area for standard bolt/screw sizes. Is there a chart somewhere with this info? If not, how would I go about figuring out the surface area of a sheet metal screw, or a 1 1/2 7/16 thread bolt? Also, I have some 26GA brass wire that makes wiring up some small sheet metal screws easier, but is this too thin to carry sufficient current even if I’m only doing some small screws?

Thanks,
ML

Hi, total newb to powder coat but I’m going to dive head first into the chilly water and see how I do. I painted two cars several years ago so hopefully some of the ‘prep’ work/patience will carry over. I have a nice Dewalt compressor with driers – I get good clean dry air.

My problem is I have only 120v or gas available – 220v is out of the question.

So I am seriously thinking of making an oven with 24×24x24 dimensions and using a steel plate as a door.

I’m making the thing from – clay brick- and 2 simple heating elements I found that kick out 500 watts each.

Going to use these http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1…0070921×00003a

Using the BTU calculator, I need about 980 watts to heat the oven 300 degrees above ambient.

I can get this oven built for about $50 and may be able to crank out quite a few wheels per day – to start.

My questions are

Am I crazy?

Should I also put in some kind of fan?

If so, what type of fan and where would I get it?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Hi , I worked in the Powder coating industry for 20 years over those years you learn to make your own special tools and special tech necks to accomplish your tasks anyway during this sentence you start to see thing & do things that you should not do and i come across way to build a dust extractor very cheap , unfortunately i never finished the project just go to the stage of assembling of the unit ! just wondering if anyone wants to have a go at making it since i have no use for this project anymore !

Hi all.

I’m new to anodizing but yesterday and today i have tryed it.

Now i have some problems, this is what i do:

1. i get a sheet off aluminium and polish it.
2. than i put it in the causic soda and let it there for about 1 to 2 minuten so the AL. is completly clean.
3. i wash the AL. whit distilated water en clean it whit some toilete paper.
4. I put it into the bath of H2SO4 like 15% . and connect the power supply (24V 5A) the + to the sheet AL and the – to a big sheet off lead)
5. I wait.
6. I take it out and pour destilated wahter over it , like 2 gallion.
7. I put it in a bath off navy blue dylon clothing paint.
8. I take it out and its just the same as before!!!! what am i doing wrong???

Thnx Tim