doing anozing parts at home?

[DanB]

for aluminimum parts.. anywhere i could buy that kind of kit and do it at home.. parts wont be any bigger than those 5 gallon buckets so hoping i could try doing them at home

thanks in advance

[frankenfab]

http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~chrish/t-anodis.htm

[DanB]

just found another site.. will keep lookin

http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize99.html

[ToddRH]

I feel bad for not remebering the chemical name, but I remember the process.

I used to perform a "Chem-Film" process on aluminum parts that consisted of a cleaning in muratic acid, then dunk the part in water to neutralize acid, then dunk the part in the chem-film chemical (let it soak for 20-30 sec.) then back in the rinse water. The film has a gold-cad type finish that resists corrosion pretty good.

[PAToyota]

I was to a "home machinist" convention last spring - the guys that do the live steam engines and all that sort of stuff. There was a guy there with a table selling anodizing kits - all the colors that you could possibly want. Seemed pretty reasonable price-wise, just didn't have a use for it myself at the time.

You might try searching along those lines.

[PTSchram]

The Cheap Bastard method would be to immerse the parts in sodium hydroxide, add some electricity and wait until the surface finish is what you'd want it to be. Make the part the anode and use a piece of stainless steel as the cathode. Your battery charger would likley provide enough juice.

Really Cheap Bastards would use tree root destroyer as the source of the NaOH, or red devil lye. The colors are achieved by using dies.

It's a really simple process with really simple processes to control the reaction.

[jeepnmatt]

while we are on the topic...


how about home Zinc plating? i'm looking for a way to plate nuts, bolts, and other small pieces after sandblasting to prevent rust. i've seen some kits, but think there might be a simpler way. i'm not concerned with appearance since they might get painted, but mainly want corrosion resistance.

thanks!

[PTSchram]

Zinc is a little more complicated as the easiest method is a cyanide based solution.

In 1988 I did the fatal accident investigation for five poor men who died in an industrial accident. The accident occurred during a cleanout of the tanks in the process of converting to a non-cyanide process.

There are electroless processes, but they are far more difficult to control. If the solutions are not carefully monitored, the metal can spontaneously plate to the tank!

[unimogken]

I've always eyed the powercoating products and the zinc plating things over at www.eastwood.com. I haven't bought one yet though.

I have a couple Sears catalogs that have been advertising a Craftsman Powercoater. There isn't anything on their website yet about it.

[PAToyota]

I think the Craftsman one is going to be the Eastwood version - heck even HF is now selling the base level Eastwood version.

I got to try out the Eastwood powdercoat setup at a local car show. Very nice. Definitely on my list of things to add to the shop.

[BumpyDodge]

Try Caswell plating (http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/index.html). They have all kinds of plating kits and supplies.

[aloharover]

The Cheap Bastard method would be to immerse the parts in sodium hydroxide, add some electricity and wait until the surface finish is what you'd want it to be. Make the part the anode and use a piece of stainless steel as the cathode. Your battery charger would likley provide enough juice.

Really Cheap Bastards would use tree root destroyer as the source of the NaOH, or red devil lye. The colors are achieved by using dies.

It's a really simple process with really simple processes to control the reaction.

How time sensitive are these?

I am thinking about doing a flat black finish on some milled alum parts ;)
And was thinking about an Eastwood kit. But if your method works.....

[PTSchram]

How time sensitive are these?


You got me. My experience was with maintaining the concentrations in the baths and the disposal of spent solutions. Back when I ran a lab, one of my clients was a big anodizing plant. They would invariably call me mid-evening on Friday for help with restoring their baths after a dump. We tried to set them up with their own lab, but they always came back needing help.