# Anodizing: Home Brew Style!



## 04orgZx6r (Oct 9, 2008)

Recently, I've been working my way into the custom and modified world  
One of the only things that I haven't been able to change is the color of my flashlight, mostly because I thought it would be to hard or cost to much.
I've been searching around on the Internet on ways to Anodize Aluminum, and thought I would share my research and trials with you guys.
I think you will be surprised at how easy and especially how cheap it is.

To start this off, I'm just going to go through the steps of what I have found to work.
There are many different ways to do this and some really neat methods as well, such as splash anodizing, but I have no idea how to do that:mecry: 
I'd appreciate any information you have to share as would others.

First things first, you need to go shopping/rummaging through the garage!

*Distilled Water
Clothes Dye in Your choice of color*(RIT works well)
*Battery acid*(Don't let this stop you, I payed $8 for a gallon at Napa!)
*Cathode*(basically just a piece of Aluminum, more on this later)
*Car Battery charger*(Not an automatic one though, don't have one? Ask your neighbor.)
*Plastic tubs*(for rinsing and dye)
*Anodizing tank*(any plastic tub will do)
*Aluminum Wire*(12 guage is best, can be purchased from McMaster Carr online)
*Anodizing remover*( I just use the Drano crystals, but you can also use easy-off oven spray)
Am I forgetting anything?

This is where I share all of my secrets! Ok so I don't have any secrets but this is how I do it.  

*Setting up the Tank!*

I just used an old paintball tub I had laying around for my tank. 
I got the cathode(hunk of aluminum from my local scrap yard) installed using the aluminum wire. This way you don't have to worry about the charger lead getting into the acid, Only aluminum should touch the acid.
As you can see from the pictures the negative lead goes on the cathode end and the positive lead goes on the part end.
I just used a piece of aluminum to hang the parts on. 
Next you have to fill the tank with your acid solution. 50/50 distilled water to battery acid.
*Important: Always add acid, pour in your distilled water first then add the acid. Do not go the other way around!*













*Prep your light!*
To remove the original Anodize coating I use these Drano Crystals.





Just mix them in with water in a container and drop your parts in, but be very very careful, caustic soda will eat away at your clothes and burn your skin on contact!
Monitor the process, this solution will eat away at aluminum also so don't keep it in too long or make the solution to strong, Trial and error, its best to start with practice parts, trust me I know :mecry:

After you take the parts out, rinse them off with water.

If you want a matte finish on the parts, take some steel wool to them, if you want a more shiny anodize, then you need to polish those parts.

*From this point on its best to keep the parts wet, as in don't let the parts dry to long in between steps*

After that its best to clean your parts, anodizing shows everything, even fingerprints. I use some dishsoap with warm water and a toothbrush. Then rinse with water.

While I'm cleaning I take the aluminum wire and bend it inside the part. It's important to make it tight for a good electric connection, also wherever the wire touches won't be anodized. 

*Ready to Start, well almost*

Now that you have your parts prepped and the tank set up, you need to get out your tubs.
Fill one with water for rinsing.(use cold water!)
Fill the other with your dye solution(The less water you use here the darker the color will be.)It's a good idea to mix your dye with luke warm water to make sure it mixes in with the dye completely.






Also you need a pot of boiling water to seal the parts in after you dye them. Heat seals the pores that the anodizing process opens, so be sure to rinse with cold water.

*Ready to anodize*

Okay, now that you have your tank set up and your parts cleaned, all ready to go.

Before hooking up the charger, hang your part from the positive voltage bar in the acid solution. This process may generate some heat, however to keep the temp down you can Freeze a bottle of water and put it in the tank. Now if your charger has two settings turn it on the lower setting first, then after you plug it in raise it up to the higher setting.
Now there is a mathematical equation to figure out how long to leave it in, but I find that the voltage will peak and then I take the charger off, remove the parts, rinse them in the water, put them in the dye until the desired color is reached and then sealed in the boiling water. 

Have any of you ever tried this? I found it to be really easy to do, well a lot easier than I thought it was going to be. Any Ideas on how to do neat things like fades and splash anodizing?

Heres my next project, I got it in the barbarian sale:twothumbs




I would like any ideas you have on how to anodize this one, I'm going to wait until I can do something really cool like Splash anodizing. So if you are in the know, please post here on how to do it, or at least your Ideas I'll post pictures when I'm done. :devil: 

Thanks for looking, if you have any questions or comments, Just ask!:twothumbs

Disclaimer:Try at your own risk, I will take no responsibility, should you try this on your own.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 9, 2008)

Reserved:devil:


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## will (Oct 9, 2008)

Be careful - not all aluminum is pure aluminum, some alloys contain copper. There is an additional process called de smutting which will remove surface copper.

Practice on some scrap aluminum before you hit the flashlights. 

and - flashlights have an electrical path from the batteries to the bulb. Anodize is non conductive, you have to either mask off the contact points or remove the anodize at a later time.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 9, 2008)

will said:


> Be careful - not all aluminum is pure aluminum, some alloys contain copper. There is an additional process called de smutting which will remove surface copper.
> 
> Practice on some scrap aluminum before you hit the flashlights.
> 
> and - flashlights have an electrical path from the batteries to the bulb. Anodize is non conductive, you have to either mask off the contact points or remove the anodize at a later time.



Ya, I've been doing some practice, I've actually ran in to that problem with my MRV which contained copper. 

I always remove the anodize after, how do you suggest masking off? That might be the key to Splash Anodizing.


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## will (Oct 9, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> .
> 
> I always remove the anodize after, how do you suggest masking off? That might be the key to Splash Anodizing.




I stopped looking into home anodize before I got into masking off area or splash anodizing. Most folks who do that seem to want to keep it a secret.


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## LukeA (Oct 9, 2008)

Book

general article


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## Der Wichtel (Oct 9, 2008)

lead sheets as contacts work much better.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 9, 2008)

Der Wichtel said:


> lead sheets as contacts work much better.


Thank you for the info I appreciate it. Why do they work better?


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## Sabrewolf (Oct 9, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> Thank you for the info I appreciate it. Why do they work better?


 

Because they dont develop an anodized layer as
you use them quite as fast as awooominuum :thumbsup:
Otherwise you will have to de-anodize the aluminium 
periodically. But when you do dispose of the lead,
make sure that you do so enviromentally 

Robert M.


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## cheetokhan (Oct 9, 2008)

How about stainless steel for the cathode? I can get some 1/4" thick stainless plates for free


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 9, 2008)

I personally don't think lead is any better that aluminum, it doesn't anodize with the part, and especially if you are just a hobbiest you will have to do little maintenance on it. Pure lead sheets for me seemed harder to source, and they have to be pure lead, otherwise you will contaminate your bath. 

I am sure that SS will not work for a cathode, sorry.


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## will (Oct 10, 2008)

I might be wrong here - doesn't there have to be an exchange of electrons? that will happen with lead, but not steel.


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## griff (Oct 10, 2008)

man....I love backyard chemistry 
lest keep this thread going:twothumbs


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## Sabrewolf (Oct 10, 2008)

cheetokhan said:


> How about stainless steel for the cathode? I can get some 1/4" thick stainless plates for free


 

The sulfuric acid would eat right through it because
stainless is a ferrous material.

On another note...
I just stripped a black mag bezel, Polished it, 
Cold-Anodized it, Polished Again, and then Clear-Coated.
It came out like polished silver!! AWESOME!!!
Of course the clear-coating makes it a shelf queen...
Ie, Quite fragile, but Beeyyooouuuteefulll to look at!

Robert M.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 10, 2008)

griff said:


> man....I love backyard chemistry
> lest keep this thread going:twothumbs



I was hoping to inspire some people to try it, its really easy......to try:devil:

I might be able to "try" some neato anodizing tricks when I go home this weekend, if I have time. If I can figure anything out, I won't keep it a secret I will share, maybe if your nice:nana:

I'm gonna need some ideas on my barbarian host


If you have any Pictures of neat Anodize jobs, please post them.
What do you guys think two colors, three??? Which ones????
I'm thinking something with orange


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## Sabrewolf (Oct 10, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> I was hoping to inspire some people to try it, its really easy......to try:devil:
> 
> I might be able to "try" some neato anodizing tricks when I go home this weekend, if I have time. If I can figure anything out, I won't keep it a secret I will share, maybe if your nice:nana:
> 
> ...


 

Make a "Concentrate" with the Rit-Dye..
Mix it with a thickening agent, like flour,
or cake mix.. Sounds funny huh?
Then dribble it all over the light right after
you anodize it. This may work pretty well for
a custom tie-dye experiment. You can even
have multiple colors dribbled next to one 
another for a unique look :twothumbs
I will try it out myself when i get a chance.
Picture time when i doo 

Robert M.


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## Barbarin (Oct 10, 2008)

will said:


> Be careful - not all aluminum is pure aluminum, some alloys contain copper. There is an additional process called de smutting which will remove surface copper.
> 
> Practice on some scrap aluminum before you hit the flashlights.
> 
> and - flashlights have an electrical path from the batteries to the bulb. Anodize is non conductive, you have to either mask off the contact points or remove the anodize at a later time.


 
He does not have to worry about that. That light was made from 6082 T6, and most of them have been anodized HAIII type with no problem at all.

Do you want a matt finish? Try a 60 seconds bath on caustic soda saturated dilution (before the anodizing!!!!)

Javier


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 10, 2008)

Barbarin said:


> He does not have to worry about that. That light was made from 6082 T6, and most of them have been anodized HAIII type with no problem at all.
> 
> Do you want a matt finish? Try a 60 seconds bath on caustic soda saturated dilution (before the anodizing!!!!)
> 
> Javier


Thanks for the tip Javier:wave:


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## Gryloc (Oct 12, 2008)

How can you tell if some dyes can handle being dissolved into the battery acid? What about fluorescent dies? Can chemicals be dissolved with the acid, instead of dies, to put a copper, silver, or gold plating on the light in the same process? I remember those chemistry classes where we plated some metals, but I do not remember the exact chemicals used, and the exact process. Thanks.

-Tony

-EDIT: I thought that I was wrong to post my strange idea. It is a little too out there, and I do not want to bother anyone, and I did not want to appear as too strange. The more I read it, the more bothered and uncomfortable I grew with it. I am still interested in using unique dyes and chemicals for that unique looking light, though...


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## Der Wichtel (Oct 13, 2008)

will said:


> Be careful - not all aluminum is pure aluminum, some alloys contain copper. There is an additional process called de smutting which will remove surface copper.
> 
> Practice on some scrap aluminum before you hit the flashlights.



That's why lead is better suited. Some stainless steal work well as well. But if you use aluminium as contacts, then make sure that the aluminium is the same type.
I don't know how it's called in english but it has something to do with "noble metals".

The contacts should be more noble than the workpiece. That's why you should not use copper.


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## LukeA (Oct 13, 2008)

Der Wichtel said:


> That's why lead is better suited. Some stainless steal work well as well. But if you use aluminium as contacts, then make sure that the aluminium is the same type.
> I don't know how it's called in english but it has something to do with "noble metals".
> 
> The contacts should be more noble than the workpiece. That's why you should not use copper.



Reactivity. You want a metal that is less reactive than aluminum for your cathode.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 13, 2008)

Gryloc said:


> How can you tell if some dyes can handle being dissolved into the battery acid? What about fluorescent dies? Can chemicals be dissolved with the acid, instead of dies, to put a copper, silver, or gold plating on the light in the same process? I remember those chemistry classes where we plated some metals, but I do not remember the exact chemicals used, and the exact process. Thanks.
> 
> -Tony
> 
> -EDIT: I thought that I was wrong to post my strange idea. It is a little too out there, and I do not want to bother anyone, and I did not want to appear as too strange. The more I read it, the more bothered and uncomfortable I grew with it. I am still interested in using unique dyes and chemicals for that unique looking light, though...



I don't think you quite understand the process yet......the dyeing part is done after anodizing in the acid, so the acid is completely washed off and then the anodized layer is dyed and then sealed.

As for your unique dyes, I don't see why any of them wouldn't work. and I read it before the edit.:naughty:
I know nothing about plating sorry.


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## will (Oct 13, 2008)

The acid sets up the aluminum to accept the dye, the hot water seals the dye to the aluminum. 

Gold, silver, nickel etc - are done by different processes.


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## Gryloc (Oct 14, 2008)

Thanks for the replies. I guess that I did not read all of the details on the posts in full. I did not realize that the acid makes the aluminum porous first, then you apply the dyes, then seal the metal. I was thinking that the dyes were dissolved in with the acid so it was done in one step. Thanks for the clarification! 

BTW, how does dipping the light in boiling water help seal the anodized finish? I guess I do not understand how deep the pores in the aluminum are (and how large or small the pores are). Does the dye seal the pores, then the hot water sets the dye? If you put the aluminum part in the acid bath for a short period of time, then dye and seal the part, will you end up with very light finish (like a light blue or green)? Finally, how do you get "clear" or "silver" finishes? I thought that the anodizing adds a slight layer of aluminum oxide to protect the aluminum. So would a light be put in the acid bath, then rinsed and sealed to get the natural clear or silver look? I guess I am asking if it is an aluminum oxide layer (if that is how it works) which is the layer that is porous.

-Tony


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 14, 2008)

Gryloc said:


> Thanks for the replies. I guess that I did not read all of the details on the posts in full. I did not realize that the acid makes the aluminum porous first, then you apply the dyes, then seal the metal. I was thinking that the dyes were dissolved in with the acid so it was done in one step. Thanks for the clarification!
> 
> BTW, how does dipping the light in boiling water help seal the anodized finish? I guess I do not understand how deep the pores in the aluminum are (and how large or small the pores are). Does the dye seal the pores, then the hot water sets the dye? If you put the aluminum part in the acid bath for a short period of time, then dye and seal the part, will you end up with very light finish (like a light blue or green)? Finally, how do you get "clear" or "silver" finishes? I thought that the anodizing adds a slight layer of aluminum oxide to protect the aluminum. So would a light be put in the acid bath, then rinsed and sealed to get the natural clear or silver look? I guess I am asking if it is an aluminum oxide layer (if that is how it works) which is the layer that is porous.
> 
> -Tony



You are correct, the aluminum oxide layer which is put on in the acid bath process is the porous layer.

In my experience, the longer you live the part in the bath the more the oxidize layer builds up, to a certain point in which the acid eats away at the anodize layer as fast as it is making it. If you don't leave it in long enough the oxide layer would be very thin and give the best "clear" anodize.
However if you just want lighter colors, don't leave them in the dye as long.


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## LukeA (Oct 14, 2008)

Gryloc said:


> Thanks for the replies. I guess that I did not read all of the details on the posts in full. I did not realize that the acid makes the aluminum porous first, then you apply the dyes, then seal the metal. I was thinking that the dyes were dissolved in with the acid so it was done in one step. Thanks for the clarification!
> 
> BTW, how does dipping the light in boiling water help seal the anodized finish? I guess I do not understand how deep the pores in the aluminum are (and how large or small the pores are). Does the dye seal the pores, then the hot water sets the dye? If you put the aluminum part in the acid bath for a short period of time, then dye and seal the part, will you end up with very light finish (like a light blue or green)? Finally, how do you get "clear" or "silver" finishes? I thought that the anodizing adds a slight layer of aluminum oxide to protect the aluminum. So would a light be put in the acid bath, then rinsed and sealed to get the natural clear or silver look? I guess I am asking if it is an aluminum oxide layer (if that is how it works) which is the layer that is porous.
> 
> -Tony



The aluminum oxide layer is porous.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 14, 2008)

I'm done playing for now anyone want to see pictures?:devil:


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## MorpheusT1 (Oct 14, 2008)

:twothumbs


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## datiLED (Oct 14, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> I'm done playing for now anyone want to see pictures?:devil:


 
 Do you even need to ask?


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 14, 2008)

OK ask and you shall receive 
Here is the first one, it wasn't quite what I was going for, but it was different and unique enough that I just could not strip it and retry.
What do you think? 
Tell me what light it is and I'll show you more


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## N10 (Oct 14, 2008)

that's pretty neat work man....!
and the light looks like an inova XO or something similar...


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 14, 2008)

Thanks, its not my best, you'll have to wait for that.
Not an Inova, I'll give you a hint, it takes an 18650 battery. 
I promise the next one will be much easier to guess.


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## datiLED (Oct 14, 2008)

I believe that it is a Little Mini 18650 Cree Q5 flashlight.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 14, 2008)

datiLED said:


> I believe that it is a Little Mini 18650 Cree Q5 flashlight.



Right you are, well minus the Q5, this is getting a P4 or maybe a P7.

Okay here is another one

Guess what light these parts are from, these were done in different batches. The actually head of the light is more towards the look I was going for. 

This should give me just enough time to take some pictures of my last and best experiment.


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## datiLED (Oct 14, 2008)

Mag, of course. More pictures, please.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 14, 2008)

Two for two, Ok here is the last one I did for the weekend. 
I like it the best, what do you think.:devil:


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## primox1 (Oct 14, 2008)

I think I agree with you....it looks very nice!!! 
Nice SS bezel. :thumbsup:


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## Bimmerboy (Oct 14, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> what do you think.:devil:



Looks like it was fired in a kiln for a while. :nana:

That said, as a flashaholic, and a guitarist, I'd absolutely _love_ to own one, matched up with Steve Vai's "toasted" Ibanez.







Notice the melted pickups. :devil:


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## Cuso (Oct 15, 2008)

Hmm I thought the whole thing would be uniform in color. Looks funky though, kinda like splash camo-ano. Was it supposed to come out like this??? BTW is that tan paint on the snake skinned Nova??


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 15, 2008)

Bimmerboy said:


> Looks like it was fired in a kiln for a while. :nana:
> 
> That said, as a flashaholic, and a guitarist, I'd absolutely _love_ to own one, matched up with Steve Vai's "toasted" Ibanez.
> 
> ...



Nice, though I'm more of an acoustic guy.



Cuso said:


> Hmm I thought the whole thing would be uniform in color. Looks funky though, kinda like splash camo-ano. Was it supposed to come out like this??? BTW is that tan paint on the snake skinned Nova??



Ya I did it on purpose, I dyed it black and orange, and yes textured paint on the Sonoran.


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## KeyGrip (Oct 15, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


>



I like it. I'd do that to my ROP.


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## high-side (Oct 15, 2008)

I think think your Novatac turned out awesome :thumbsup:
Sign me up for a desert camo anodize job on my Novatac


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 16, 2008)

Thanks for the comments! If only I had the time, maybe if I did a big group of them all at once:laughing::laughing:


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## Cuso (Oct 19, 2008)

Can you do one in orange only?? Want to c how it turns out....


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## Lynx_Arc (Oct 20, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


>


I have that model of charger but mine has another variable knob for up to 1.2A I Use it for charging 6v SLAs


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 21, 2008)

Haha, ya its an oldie, but its perfect for this.


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## carrot (Oct 21, 2008)

COOL. Looks like you dipped them in toxic waste.


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## 04orgZx6r (Oct 21, 2008)

carrot said:


> COOL. Looks like you dipped them in toxic waste.



Haha, Thanks! Actually the idea came to me when I heard the word nuclear.:laughing:


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## Officer Thompson (Nov 19, 2008)

I did my first home anodizing today. Well it didn't turn out orange like I wanted but it turned out a nice Gold color. I think I didn't have enough amps I was only running at 2amps. 10 amps would be better. I also didn't ice my water I think that was probably another problem. But it was very fun and pretty easy. Also its not the expensive. 5 gallons of battery acid is only 24 dollars.

Over all it was my first time and I think it went pretty well. Also keeping it clean is the hardest part I think.


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## hamheart (Nov 19, 2008)

does anybody know how to gold plate?


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## VanIsleDSM (Nov 19, 2008)

Good work, it's amazing how easy anodizing really is. Attention to safety is important though. An acid mist is created during the process, which you don't want to be inhaling, it will also corrode anything in the room quite quickly. Best to do outside with a lid, or inside with a lid and an extraction system. A 120mm brushless computer fan and a dryer hose seem to work quite well.. though I don't expect the fan to last too long.. they're cheap.

Aluminum is the best cathode, use 6061. It will not anodize, as it's not the anode in the circuit.

Here were the first couple parts I experimented with, using food dye.












And a couple 16340 flashlights I made, R2 WH and P3 7A warm.
















Planning to do some more when I get back home from work.. I may try some multi colour stuff.


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 19, 2008)

Neat, I think it was your posts about anodizing that encouraged me to look into it, and yes it is easy!

BTW, multi color is easy to, and sweet, let me know if you have any questions


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 19, 2008)

Officer Thompson said:


> I did my first home anodizing today. Well it didn't turn out orange like I wanted but it turned out a nice Gold color. I think I didn't have enough amps I was only running at 2amps. 10 amps would be better. I also didn't ice my water I think that was probably another problem. But it was very fun and pretty easy. Also its not the expensive. 5 gallons of battery acid is only 24 dollars.
> 
> Over all it was my first time and I think it went pretty well. Also keeping it clean is the hardest part I think.



Cool, I am glad someelse tried it what dye are you using? If you have any questions, I'll be glad to answer:twothumbs



hamheart said:


> does anybody know how to gold plate?




Search Google for Caswell forums, that place has a lot of info, as for gold plating, its not so much a Homebrew easy to do thing.....The chemicals you do are way harsher.....

If you are looking to just get something plated, i would search for platers near where you live....


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## Officer Thompson (Nov 22, 2008)

I am using RIT dye but i am having problems. I have tired this 3 times now and I get the same results every time. I am trying to dye a flashlight orange and one black. The orange one comes out gold every time and the black one doesn't take the dye. Any idea what I might be doing wrong. I have to different chargers so I can play around with the volts and amps, I also have a DC welder if I need some real power. Can you explain your steps a little more. How long you left it in the acid bath, what was the amps and volts, how long you left it in the dye. Thanks


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## nailbender (Nov 23, 2008)

Hey All

I stumbled across this site the other day while reading this thread. This guy has dyes available and a whole kit if a person wanted.

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

Dave


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## will (Nov 23, 2008)

nailbender said:


> Hey All
> 
> I stumbled across this site the other day while reading this thread. This guy has dyes available and a whole kit if a person wanted.
> 
> ...



I think he can get additional colors if necessary, I emailed last year with some questions, I got the answers, but I did not follow up doing home anodizing. I wanted to get into splash - multi color anodizing.


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 23, 2008)

Officer Thompson said:


> I am using RIT dye but i am having problems. I have tired this 3 times now and I get the same results every time. I am trying to dye a flashlight orange and one black. The orange one comes out gold every time and the black one doesn't take the dye. Any idea what I might be doing wrong. I have to different chargers so I can play around with the volts and amps, I also have a DC welder if I need some real power. Can you explain your steps a little more. How long you left it in the acid bath, what was the amps and volts, how long you left it in the dye. Thanks



The link that nailbender added is a great source for Info, I suggest reading it a few times:thumbsup:

What RIT dye are you using, I assume it is the sunshine orange, I have found it really hard to get a true orange with that color, RIT also makes a color called tangerine, which is a bit darker orange, i haven't tried it yet but I would think it would give a better orange color, but I think you can only get it off of there website....

There is a mathmatical equation to set up the time, and if you think you can handle that do a search for Caswell forums on google and it will tell you how to compute it...

With my basic twelve volt car charger I have found that about an hour works great for several small parts, for bigger parts a little longer may be needed...

Your cathode size should be at least 1/3 the size of your parts, as far as I know, the bigger the better, to some extent....

I just leave it in the dye until it is a few shades darker than what i want it to end up being, If the part isn't taking color, check and see if your hanging wire is taking color...

If it is then it means your part lost electrical connection and you need to start over with a new wire...

If it doesn't take the color, most likely you need the rinse it off and put it back in the anodizing tank for a little longer...

Like I said, The home brew style is all about trial and error, you'll get the hang of it...

Did I help answer any of your questions? Let me know if i can help any more:twothumbs


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## Officer Thompson (Nov 24, 2008)

Yes thanks for the help. I think I found my problem I was only leaving it the acid bath for 20 to 30mins and yes I am using sunshine orange. I think I am going to play around with it today. I just got off work so I'll see if I have time when I get up.


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## Officer Thompson (Nov 25, 2008)

Yes that was my problem and things are going alot better now. I still am just learning but at least I got it orange now. Here are some pictures.











Tho it is much better now that it is orange and not gold I am still having problems keeping it clean I think. I have spots and some dark parts which I believe is from being dirty? I really didn't clean it that good because its only practice at this point.

I do have a nice big old beast of a charger tho





It has 5 different voltage settings and my question is what is the different if I run it on low vs high? Is it just it will take more time or does it effect the quality? I did turn it on high for about 30mins on a different flashlight and the volts were around 18 and amps were around 20 and still rising? Is there any benefits of running it at a higher voltage other than maybe time?


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## VanIsleDSM (Nov 25, 2008)

A battery charger isn't ideal obviously.. you want to be able to adjust the voltage to get the correct current.. you can use bigger or smaller cathodes though.

The goal is 12amps / square foot of surface area. I just guestimate the surface area with a few rough calculations and aim for somewhere around the rule.. it's not crucial, to get it bang on, but close is good. Too much current can burn the work.. I haven't done it before, but I imagine it would be discoloured if it was burnt.

As for cleaning, you may have mentioned earlier, but do you use lye to chemically strip off some aluminum before anodizing?


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 25, 2008)

I'm not real good with any of the technicalities, mostly because they don't really apply the way I am set up....

As for Spots you mentioned, like you said preperation is key! You'll see everythig you see on the bare alumminum even after anodizing..,

The other culprit may be, what temperature is your dye when dyeing? I think I forgot to mention it but it should be warm.


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## Officer Thompson (Nov 26, 2008)

I used drano crystals and they seem to work well. And yes I found out that the dye had to be warm after I tired it a few times.


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## will (Nov 26, 2008)

Officer Thompson said:


> No I am not using lye I used drano crystals and they seem to work well. And yes I found out that the dye had to be warm after I tired it a few times.



Drano contains lye. There is another solution that will remove anodize is a product called 'Greased Lightning' available at the Home Depot, Walmart and other retailers.

I thought the dye had to be room temperature or colder. You use hot water to 'set' the dye, making it permanent.


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 26, 2008)

will said:


> I thought the dye had to be room temperature or colder. You use hot water to 'set' the dye, making it permanent.



Trial and error tells me different:shrug:


And from the anodizing king himself(Ron N.)....


"Mix the dye according to the manufactures instructions. Most of the powder based dyes mix at 2 grams per liter of water, (there are exceptions - one is black dyes which tend to be about 4 times that). Heat the dye to about 140 degrees F."


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## will (Nov 27, 2008)

04orgZx6r said:


> Trial and error tells me different:shrug:
> 
> 
> And from the anodizing king himself(Ron N.)....
> ...



I stand corrected. I have not done this myself, I was going on what I had read about the process.


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 27, 2008)

Well, I agree with you on why, I thought it would seal it to fast too, which is why i tried it cold first....that didn't work out so well...

As to why it needs to be warm?:shrug:


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## VanIsleDSM (Nov 28, 2008)

If you're looking to get as much dye in as possible, I found that putting the part in with warm dye, and very slowly heating worked best. This way you can reach the maximum level of heat where the dye will most easily be absorbed, and have a decent amount of time in that temperature region before it rises enough to start sealing the ano.


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## Lumenous (Nov 29, 2008)

Interesting thread. 

So, what type of anodizing would you say this is? HAIII?


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## revs (Nov 29, 2008)

HA II. Here is another link to a DIY anodizing site. http://www.warpig.com/paintball/technical/anodize.shtml It is on a paintball forum. I thought about anodizing my paintball marker until I found out anodizing doesn't look good on cast aluminum parts.

It is a little different procedure. But the results should be the same.


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## olrac (Nov 29, 2008)

Not to nit pick but, HA refers to Type III anodizing so to call it HA III is redundant and Type II is not HA (Hard Anodizing)


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## 04orgZx6r (Nov 29, 2008)

olrac said:


> Not to nit pick but, HA refers to Type III anodizing so to call it HA III is redundant and Type II is not HA (Hard Anodizing)


Yep, what he said:twothumbs


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## deusexaethera (Feb 18, 2009)

I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, but I am anyway. I would've thought this would be a lot harder to do.


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