Anodizing Aluminum
8 1/2 x 11 Paperback 29 pages
Price $19.95 Buy Me
Anodizing is a type of surface corrosion on aluminum parts. It forms a very hard oxide layer that is porous and can accept dyes for coloring. It can then be sealed to lock in the color. It is more durable than even the best paints or powder coatings and will never chip. You can see this treatment on many automotive, motorcycle and aircraft parts. If you are customizing a car or motorcycle, you need this book.
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A short explanation of the process goes like this. Clean part, submerge in acid bath with electrical current, dip in color dye, then seal in the color. This can easily be done in your basement or garage. Of course you have to be careful around chemicals, but you don’t need to be a chemist and the materials are easy to find, such as drain cleaner, battery acid and even fabric dyes. Only need a few parts? Then a few plastic buckets with chemicals and a battery charger will do. Need a lot of parts or want to start a business, then you can refine the process by controlling temperatures and times to be more productive. Start off with a cheap manual battery charger then you can add a lamp dimmer to get variable output, or step up to a real power supply if you need to do more. Industrial power supplies can often be found at surplus prices.
Even a sophisticated anodizing line can be built with ordinary components such as plastic coolers for tubs, aquarium pumps to agitate, simple heaters and hardware store items. This book has everything from beginning to end. Learn how to strip old anodizing then clean and prep the parts. Different prep methods such as tumbling, polishing and blasting give different results. See clever ways to rack multiple parts, set up dip tanks and make the electrical connections. Great info on anodizing times and power requirements for different alloys.
Dying the part is the creative part, you can use ordinary fabric dyes, but commercial dyes resist fading in sunlight better and can be obtained from the publisher. He also sells advanced anodizing kits with all the chemicals and dyes. Many special effects are possible such as multi color fades or splash effects.
Anodizing is great fun and can add a professional touch to all your projects