anodizing kits?

The stuff from Ron Newman worked well for me, perfect results on the first test piece. Used to be at

but don't seem to be able to get there at present. The stuff from Caswell also has had good reviews but I haven't used their stuff. There is / was an anodizing group on groups.yahoo.com with good info, but I haven't followed it lately.

Caswell's stuff works fine. I expect the stuff sold by Caswell and by Newman are very similar if not identical, though Newman offers different power supplies.

Newman's web page is still up, and is an excellent resource.

I've never used them, just have the website bookmarked and have drooled on the stuff for a while...if you try them, let us know how they are to work with.

Mike

I've been using their stuff for about 10 years: zinc, copper, nickel (both electroless and electrolytic), tin, blackening and anodizing. It's easy to do, the directions are excellent and the results are excellent if you follow the directions.

I remember reading an article or website once of a home shop guy that used laundry dye for colored anodizing. I'll try to remember to look through my bookmarks here and at work. Randy

RIT dye from the Grocery store.

After the part has been in the anodizing tank an appropriate while, it goes into the dye for a soak, then gets boiled to set the color into the surface.

Caswell has a sterling reputation, and if you are starting out and wish success right off, with a minimum of fuss, you could do a lot worse than to use their kit to get going.

You WILL require a lage DC power supply, if the parts are of any size.

Cheers Trevor Jones

RIT works after a fashion, except for black. It doesn't work nearly as well as the "real" dyes sold by Caswell and the other guy. This is especially true of black.

Some alloys anodize and "take" dye better than others. There's good guidance to be found from the websites cited.

Good anodizing can be done at lower current density. It just takes longer. Caswell has a discussion of LCD (low current density) anodizing in his plating manual.

A constant-current supply works best. It isn't difficult to make a current regulator to run off of something like a battery charger.

I will note that my experience is limited to smaller projects, stuff that will fit in a 2-gallon or 5-gallon bucket. I don't think I've ever needed more than 5 amps.

We had an anodizing set-up at the College I went to, back in '99-2k.

They were using pretty large currents and we had to do the surface calcs as part of the process.

Not been involved, otherwise.

Nice to know it can be done on the low current.

Could open that up as an option for some projects down the line.

Thanks!

Cheers Trevor Jones

Bright dayglow pink is a fascinating anodizing color, particularly when applied to firearms. Seen two of them this year. One being a AR, the other being a Mod 59 S&W(with mauve grip panels..very tasteful.....)

Both owned by women btw. Thank Crom.

Gunner

"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire. Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us) off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the shit out of you for torturing the cat." Gunner

Thanks, sounds like Caswell it is then. Prices are certainly reasonable.

Ya know, Gunner...if you think about, it's STILL a little creepy to think of those weapons with THOSE colors.

Misters Smith and Wesson would be rolling in their graves!

(:>

Mike

I missed the Staff meeting, but the Memos shoed that Gunner Asch wrote on Sun, 06 Jan 2008 11:19:18 -0800 in rec.crafts.metalworking :

Last year I had to replace my MP3 player. I could get the black one for $54, or the pink one for $34. My manhood not being threatened by bright colors, I got the $34 one.

Yes, indeedy. Let us be thankful for women.

tschus pyotr

-- pyotr filipivich "Quemadmoeum gladuis neminem occidit, occidentis telum est. " Lucius Annaeus Seneca, circa 45 AD (A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killer's hands.)

Spend $1 more on a can of spray paint.

Why?

It was for work, and I already had a handy slot in the belt pouch.

tschus pyotr

-- pyotr filipivich "Quemadmoeum gladuis neminem occidit, occidentis telum est. " Lucius Annaeus Seneca, circa 45 AD (A sword is never a killer, it is a tool in the killer's hands.)

I tried Rit navy blue dye on some aluminum castings and it seemed to work at first, but I noticed that the color had a tendency to fade after several weeks exposure to sunlight. Just as a test, another piece from the same alloy was anodized and then left on the dashboard of the truck, but after about 3 weeks the color was almost gone. I don't know if ordinary room light over a longer period of time would cause fading, but fabric dye (or at least Navy Blue) does not look like a good choice for parts that will be exposed to UV light.

Mike