Current Reputable Annodizers?

[jbtamu1011]

So, I've gotten the Mag bug. I want to build my own now. Working on getting the main pieces. Got the rail from Luke, one of his AM/MM Teth rails. Working on getting a minimag body. Anyways, once i get all the main pieces, I want to annodize them. Who are the reputable annodizers these days? All the ones i've seen in posts when I search seem to not be doing it anymore (older posts).

[mobsterboy]

I cannot recommend Caustic Customs enough, and I believe he is also in Texas. He did a couple of my Mags in my sig

[jherr505]

I've used http://www.pctanodizing.com/

Shawn is awesome to work with

[jbtamu1011]

I cannot recommend Caustic Customs enough, and I believe he is also in Texas. He did a couple of my Mags in my sig


I've used http://www.pctanodizing.com/

Shawn is awesome to work with

I'll have to take a look at these and do some researching. Caustic being in TX would help me out on shipping.

[Gundam V]

If your cool with waiting for a bit, you might want to wait till the latter parts of fall/early winter. XMT is doing a run of Minimag/RT styled bodies. Those will be vertical feed instead of powerfeed. If you'd rather not deal with elbows those would be good options. He has a thread, interest in a 2 piece carbon fiber body. He goes into detail about his plans for the run.

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[jbtamu1011]

If your cool with waiting for a bit, you might want to wait till the latter parts of fall/early winter. XMT is doing a run of Minimag/RT styled bodies. Those will be vertical feed instead of powerfeed. If you'd rather not deal with elbows those would be good options. He has a thread, interest in a 2 piece carbon fiber body. He goes into detail about his plans for the run.

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Oh crap!! I forgot about that..... I just got a Minimag body with powerfeed, Dye Boomstick twistlock barrel and stainless sight rail on ebay for $54. the body said blemish and had a spot modified. if it doesn't work, I'll be looking into XMT's bodies. they are sweet looking.

[Gundam V]

Depending on what's available, I'm looking at possibly 2 or 3 body purchases. That's not including whatever Luke will have in the pipeline. My wallet is gonna hate me so much this year.

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[captian pinky]

Caustic Customs
Stained Works
Aesthetic Anno
Blizzard Anno

are all solid options

[bowcycle]

I know you can pay less other places, but I just have Caustic do all my work.
He's quick, does great work, is excellent to work with, does really well at picking up on the "vision" for a marker, and it's just done right.
I have no reason to shop around.

[Gundam V]

Since someone asked about anodizers, this might be a good time to ask. I'm in the process of getting a quote for an anodize job, but I've been meaning to ask. Would there be any issues, if I was to send the back aluminum half of my retro valve in to get a matching anoziding. Figured I'd ask before I snap the pics and send them in for a proper quote.

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[going_home]

Is Mario still doing anodizing ?

FX Anodizing

[Walking Stick]

Would there be any issues, if I was to send the back aluminum half of my retro valve in to get a matching anoziding.

Hate to burst your bubble but as far as I know, the greyish aluminum reg backs of E-Mag/RT Pro/ReTro valves is Type III hard anodized. It's quite durable because it penetrates much deeper than decorative ano which therefore requires more material removal in the stripping process. If it can be anodized it's very unlikely to turn out well - aesthetically and functionally.

The black, all aluminum X type valves are okay though. Pick an anodizer familiar with them so you don't have issues with the threading and mating surfaces. Caustic seems to do most of them but I've seen some from Blizzard as well.

[jbtamu1011]

Going to throw a curveball here. What about cerakote/duracote a body, rail, frame, barrel. Is that doable? I know cerakote is very durable but i guess would limit someone to solid colors. Let me know your thoughts on this option as well.

[Gundam V]

Cool, thanks for letting me know. Glad I asked before I even bothered with the attempt.

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[Walking Stick]

As soon as I pick up a constant air Sydarm, I'll be sending it off to be Cerakoted along with an RT body. What I like about Cerakoting, besides it's durability, is how thin it is. You can easily still see light roll stampings and engraving.

I have a pistol and shotgun Cerakoted and am very impressed. There are applicators that can do much more than solid colors (check out Pittsburgh Cerakote!), but most do not offer such artistic designs in order to increase their efficiency and productivity.

[bowcycle]

Going to throw a curveball here. What about cerakote/duracote a body, rail, frame, barrel. Is that doable? I know cerakote is very durable but i guess would limit someone to solid colors. Let me know your thoughts on this option as well.

Mike Denton (http://www.facebook.com/warploader) does really good work with duracoat and is a great guy to work with. Definitely cheaper than ano, but has its limitations.

[JKR]

Good cerekote applicators can get pretty creative!

https://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/gallery/detail/40088/Cerakote-custom-cerakote-finish-on-this-sig-sauer-handgun/

[luke]

My .02 cents worth.
Keep in mind that all options other than anodizing are inferior finishes to some degree. Anodizing provides a protective layer on all surfaces of your parts. Also, with Cerekote even though they claim it's a very thin layer of paint you're still subject to the painters knowledge of the parts and how thick they lay it on. I have had Cerekoted parts come through my shop that had to be stripped to get them back to working spec because the paint was put on too thick. I use to powdercoat parts myself so I'm not suggesting cerekote is a bad idea but you're certainly gambling to a small extent that you'll have working parts when its all said and done, plus you're missing out on the full protection of ano. You may save a few dollars with the painting approach but you get what you pay for, if it's a DYI project with the Cerekote, I say do your research on the do's and dont's and go for it. Otherwise I recommend anodizing, its a far superior finish all around.

[jbtamu1011]

My .02 cents worth.
Keep in mind that all options other than anodizing are inferior finishes to some degree. Anodizing provides a protective layer on all surfaces of your parts. Also, with Cerekote even though they claim it's a very thin layer of paint you're still subject to the painters knowledge of the parts and how thick they lay it on. I have had Cerekoted parts come through my shop that had to be stripped to get them back to working spec because the paint was put on too thick. I use to powdercoat parts myself so I'm not suggesting cerekote is a bad idea but you're certainly gambling to a small extent that you'll have working parts with its all said and done, pus you're missing out on the full protection of ano. You may save a few dollars with the painting approach but you get what you pay for, if it's a DYI project with the Cerekote, I say do your research on the do's and dont's and go for it. Otherwise I recommend anodizing, its a far superior finish all around.

Thanks Luke for that bit of information of the differences. Also, thanks to everyone for all the other suggestions of different anodizers that are out there.

[bowcycle]

I want to second Luke's recommendation.
I have seen guys do powdercoating on mags and thought I'd try it to save some money. Tried it twice using two different shops on two different setups and neither one could keep things in-spec enough for the marker to work. So it ended up costing me more than if I'd just gone with ano from the start.
I get things duracoated when ano won't work because of the metal type (like the SL68 I'm having finished) or when I really need to cover pitting/major milling marks.
I do not recommend going with other options just to try to save money; just do ano.