DIY annodizing

[wjr]

I'm interested in annodizing some of my paintball stuff and I don't really want to sent it away to get anno'd. I think it would be more fun to do myself even though I probably won't do as good of a job. My only question is what do people use as a power supply? The guy that I was reading about used a computer power supply and then switched to a homemade power supply.

[MANN]

battery charger 12v

Google diy anno, and you will get lots of results. If you have access to the chemicals its not hard. The first setup will cost @ the same as sending it away, but after that its much cheaper. Also make sure that the metal you do is VERY clean

[peewee]

there is usually a couple kits on ebay at any given time. personally I have seen what can only be described as "horror stories " when it comes to do it yourself anno's.

[wjr]

there is usually a couple kits on ebay at any given time. personally I have seen what can only be described as "horror stories " when it comes to do it yourself anno's.


I plan on being very safe about it. Also I'm only going to anno my foregrip and front asa adapter first. If they don't turn out well then I won't care too much.

[p8ntball72]

http://www.warpig.com/paintball/technical/anodize.shtml

[thefool]

I accually have 2 power supplies, and would be happy to let go of one of them.

one is a 20 volt, 20 amp supply. Cleaned it up and it works perfectly. Nice and small too.

the other is a 60 volt 30 apm bohemeth. Also works fine. Very heavy becasue it has solid state transistors. Shipping might be a problem.

Also, just for kicks i have a 600 volt 1 amp power supply but that wouldn't really work for annodizing.

Pm with any interest.

These are perfect for annodizing and better than anything you'll likely get your hands on.

[wjr]

Luke- Thanks for the offer, but I've got the procedure understood.

Thefool- Thanks for the offer, but Ive got a 12 volt car charger that should do just the trick.


And wow. That warpig page has a whole bunch of useful info.

[Pacifist_Farmer]

I would try messing around with some aluminum stock before using your setup on anything paintbal related, figure just how your setup is going to work, before putting anything valuable in it.

[CoolHand]

Anodizing in and of itself is not difficult.

Creating a good quality gloss anodize layer with an opaque color and no blemishes using a battery charger, however, IS.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.

:cheers:

[punkncat]

Anodizing in and of itself is not difficult.

Creating a good quality gloss anodize layer with an opaque color and no blemishes using a battery charger, however, IS.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.

:cheers:

Ryan do know what he be spittin' yo!

:D

[wjr]

Anodizing in and of itself is not difficult.

Creating a good quality gloss anodize layer with an opaque color and no blemishes using a battery charger, however, IS.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.

:cheers:


What sort of power supply do you use?

Also, what kind of dye do you use? I'm going to be usinng rit dye, it proably wont turn out as well, but it's really cheap and can be bought loacally.

And if it doesn't turn out well, then I won't mind. My mag already looks really bad. Its got nicks and scratches everywhere,. Not to mention a benchmark frame that the previous owner drilled a hole in that I had to fix with JB welder.

[CoolHand]

What sort of power supply do you use?

Also, what kind of dye do you use? I'm going to be usinng rit dye, it proably wont turn out as well, but it's really cheap and can be bought loacally.

And if it doesn't turn out well, then I won't mind. My mag already looks really bad. Its got nicks and scratches everywhere,. Not to mention a benchmark frame that the previous owner drilled a hole in that I had to fix with JB welder.

When we did ano in house, I had a 1000 watt current sensing laboratory power supply (100V @ 10A, or 100A @ 10V, and could be set to maintain a voltage, or maintain a current setting) Ran me something like $1400 . I cannot remember the brand, I sold it to the guy who used to do the ano for me.

We bought dye from several places, but the most consistent was Caswell Plating. They sell good power supplies, and everything you would ever need to anodize, and do it well.

All that neat stuff costs money though. We bought dye and things like that from them. The acids and most chemicals we sourced elsewhere because of their high cost from Caswell.

Rit Dyes will fade over time. Red turns to a kind of dark blood stain and then to peach. It's not pretty. Blue goes away really fast, if you get it take color at all. Black Rit goes green and then gray.

Also, JB Weld has steel powder in it, which will dissolve out in the ano bath. Be prepared to fix that spot again when you get done ano'ing it. The resin might stay put, but it will be quite a bit weaker, and also porous, so it won't hold air anymore.

[wjr]

Thanks for all of the information. One more thing though. I know that copper conducts better than aluminum, so would copper wire work as a good cathode? Would the sulfuric acid do to it what it does to steel? Thanks.

[Hexis]

the best wire to use it Titanium. After it takes an anno layer, it will still conduct electricity, but it will not be effected by the acid.

[wjr]

I'm trying to keep from ordering anything here, and I don't think that my local hardware store sells titanuim wire. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Copper will work right? I've already got a big supply of it.

[thefool]

dont use copper wire, go for 6061 aluminum wire.

[CoolHand]

Copper in an ano bath is bad juju, avoid it at all costs.

Your bath will dissolve the copper, and your ano will turn splotchy. Trust me, we did it once already.

For hookups, we used aluminum TIG welding filler rods.

In a pinch, you can use just dead soft aluminum wire. Alloy doesn't matter, just make sure it is aluminum.

Lead works very well for the cathode, as does aluminum sheetmetal. Foil just falls apart in a week, and you have to sweep it up and strain the bath. A big chunk of lead works very well, and will not dissolve away, but the best is to line the whole perimeter of the tank with a 6" wide strip of aluminum sheeting (we used 0.040" thick, but that doesn't matter much) turned on edge. It lasts very well, and by it going all the way around the tank, you limit cathode shadow.

[wjr]

Okay cool. Thanks for all of the help.

Holpefully my last question though. What grade/concentration sulfuric acid is used? I was looking at my local chemical distributors website and I saw something called "ACS" grade and "laboratory" grade. Also on wikipedia it mentioned the more common concentrations and their uses. However it didn't mention anything about what concentration was used for anodizing.

[CoolHand]

Go to autozone and buy car battery electrolite.

Then mix it according to whatever you get off of caswell's forums, I can't recall offhand.

[wjr]

Awsome. Thanks alot. I was thinking that I would have to order the stuff. It sounds like I can get everything locally.

I'll be sure to post my results.

[thefool]

battery acid should be about 50/50 with water.
make sure you add the water to the acid and not the other way around.

if your looking for good cathods, take apart a car battery and use the lead plates, theyll work perfectly.

id try doing a test piece first before jumping onto parts, ecpecially with rit dyes. the black comes out a puke green.

if your having trouble getting a good anodic layer and need a new power supply :D

good luck though. And be sure to work in a ventilated area and keep the solution at around 70 degrees fernghit to avoid pitting. Lower your power supply wont handle and higher will pit the parts.

read http://www.focuser.com/atm/anodize/anodize.html , its very helpful

[billmi]

battery acid should be about 50/50 with water.
make sure you add the water to the acid and not the other way around.


Only do that if you want to be burned by acid and wear a mask like the Dread Pirate Roberts.

The general labaratory mantra is Always add acid, otherwise it may boil and spatter the acid on you.

See:
http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/safety/faq/always-add-acid.shtml

Labratories, and areas where acid is used often have industrial signs stressing this rule:
http://www.speedysigns.com/signs/WARNING_Always_Add_Acid_To_Water.asp


http://www.speedysigns.com/images/osha/large/WARNING016.gif

[Hexis]

Only do that if you want to be burned by acid and wear a mask like the Dread Pirate Roberts.

The Dread Pirate Roberts was pretty cool, maybe it would be worth it.

[thefool]

oops sorry
wasnt thinking, thats what i ment.

anyone know where you can get sulfuric acid anymore though??? I can' t get battery acid or anything the only thing i've found is drain cleaner but its a bit dirty for my tastes.

[SR_matt]

drain cleanr IIRC is caustic soada and u use that to strip not to anodize.

go to a battery shop, they shoudl have battery acid which is sulferic

and dont forget your protection, goggles, gloves, boots, apron, face shield and resporator as a minium (the face shild more when ur moving stuff in and out and pouring)

better to be safe than sorry (no matter how cliche its soooooOOOooo true)

i was looking at doing an ano kit but i dont have the money i thought id have

good luck
-matt

[thefool]

no- proffessional drain cleaner (called rooto is something like 90-93% sulfuric acid, they sell it at true value for $5 a quart) its dirty though. i tryied napa but they said that they stopped selling battery acid. Any other ideas. I may just be a New York thing.

Lye is the best for stripping although i hear they stopped making the red something lye which was the best.

[SR_matt]

hmmm mabye in NY you need a hasmat thing to get it if you cant get it at a battery shop.

-matt

[behemoth]

no- proffessional drain cleaner (called rooto is something like 90-93% sulfuric acid, they sell it at true value for $5 a quart) its dirty though. i tryied napa but they said that they stopped selling battery acid. Any other ideas. I may just be a New York thing.

Lye is the best for stripping although i hear they stopped making the red something lye which was the best.

eBay.

-- Also, its red-devil lye.