Hi all, I’m new to anodizing but not to metalworking. All my applications are art so they don’t have the rigor or precision of industrial work, more because I try to keep costs down (art not being as profitable as manufacturing haha) than because I’m sloppy.

I’ve got a little home tank arrangement, about 7 gallons in a garbage can, and I can’t get any 6061 or 6063 plate for my cathodes. Figuring that TI doesn’t anodize (under AL settings anyway), I plasma-cut a thin TI plate I had around into two cathodes and put them on either side of my tank. I’ve done 3 pieces with them and they seem to work all right – mind that I already had some dissolved AL in the bath from messing around with pie-tin cathodes and Reynolds Wrap

I’ve been told TI shouldn’t be used for a cathode, maybe b/c TI oxide will taint the tank. Nobody seems to be sure. Anyway all it does is blacken a bit, no sign of dissolution, I rinse it off and take it round again. Won’t this keep the bath from loading with dissolved AL, prolonging its life? I hope someone can explain the reasoning behind NOT using TI cathodes b/c the interweb is proving useless for that. Thanks!