Aluminum barrels.......

[Skoad]

Why do companies that make aluminum barrels always color them black?!

i want to get a freak for my incoming mag...but i wanted a silverish/chrome looking back so that it will be seen contrasting through my minimag milled body holes near the barrel, then i was gonna get a black freak front... But i can only get the freak back in stainless steel (extra $) and i like how the aluminum back is designed opposed to the stainless one...

Same thing with the bigshot, except thats more of a weight issue.


Is there anyway i can turn these black aluminum barrels into nice shiney silverish/chrome/stainless steel looking?

[Restola]

get it anodized. but im willing to bet JUST anodizing the aluminum back will cost more than an entire SS front.

[RT_Luver]

someone on here got some Drano and used that to strip the annodizing off the alluminum

[Restola]

but if you strip off the anodizing its going to rust pretty fast.

[Skoad]

but if you strip off the black like that, will it be polishable? so it will look all nice and shiney? then put some kind of clearcoat stuff on it to keep it rust free?

[Jonno06]

i have a SS freak back,and i love how it looks

but that is a good idea....

[BlackVCG]

Aluminum doesn't form rust like steel. It will oxidize, but it's only a slight milky color on the surface.

[Mossman]

Yep, get draino crystals, red devil oven cleaner, anything with LYE. (im thinking its sodium hydroxide, but i might be wrong). It eats anodizing and aluminum if you leave it on for too long. Anyhow, either spray it on or put it in water and toss the freak back in there. Because the bore doesnt matter too much on the freak back, you are totally safe, and it wont eat the o-rings inside. This will strip off the black anodizing, and it will be raw aluminum in color. Then you can polish it with metal polish, high grit sandpaper, a buffing wheel, etc. I'll post a pic of a old cocker shroud I did today, and i did my freak back too but i havent taken pics yet
BTW, p8ntballa was the guy who did it with drano, and his looks so nice he coulda said he chrome plated it. He used drano crystals and mother's mag polish.

Anyhow, this shroud I will post pics of hasnt been polished only strippedhttp://mossman.dynu.com:3000/shroud/Picture%20297.jpg

[Hacker240]

i think that they make them black because black mathces most colors, but i wouldn't try stripping it because i am not too inclined at that kind of thing and i would prob just screw it up.:mad:

[Skoad]

i might have to try that, post pics of the freak.

Ditto here, i'd probably mess something up too, but it sounds simple enough....

[p8ntballa]

Here is two I have done. My mag freak back and a friends cocker. I didnt polish the threads if you want to see it unpolished.

You would be better off sanding anything with a bore...

[Skoad]

wow p8ntballa thats pretty nice looking...you were the one that used drano? Or did you just sand it off?


give me the procedure and a shopping list of materials!!! :D :D :D

[p8ntballa]

Yep, I used drano. You need Drano Chrystals, Not the liquid. Its like 5$. Then you need Mothers Mag and Aluminum polish or an aluminum polish. Its like 4$. Then mix the drano and COLD water together in a container. I used a poweraid bottle. Follow the mixing directions, one 'heaping' tablespoon of drano chrystals to 1 cup of cold water. Put the back in the solution. Dont forget to wear gloves and eye protection. Give it a few minutes to react then take it out and wipe it off and stick it back for a few minutes, until all the anno is gone. I wouldnt leave it in the solution more than like 10 minutes. Its all it really takes. Then hose it off real good and dry it off. Take the polish and a soft cloth like an old shirt and polish it, The polish will turn black on the part, then take a clean part and whipe it off and buff it up.


Just so you know, I take no responsibility for your actions. Any harm done to yourself, your equipment, or your property is not my fault. I am just providing the information for you to use how you choose. Is that a good enough disclaimer?:rolleyes:

[Skoad]

i'll practice on my m98 stock barrel first :)

[p8ntballa]

umm.. I would use oven cleaner and a rag or sandpaper because when you set it in the stuff it is going to get inside and eat away the bore. It wont matter on a 98 stock barrel because it looks just liek a pipe. If you do a nice barrel is a nice bore you will mess it up.

[pariah1475]

Every time u anodize a thin layer of metal is stripped off...it might hurt the bore size or something :( so i would be careful if i were you.

[G-Rock]

P8ntballa,

Hey man my cocker back looks sweet, thanks dude. Talk to you later this week and all.

Chris Geiger

[Micromag Sith]

so if you can strip off the old anno then you can anno it any color you want right i know there is a way to do it yourself i read about it in a hot rod magizine

[pito189]

Here is what the aluminum back looks like on a gun. Very nice I think.

http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=447832

[magman007]

yes, striping and annodizing is fun. I completely stripped my whole e-mag then re annodized it. I will warn you, the triggerframe ahd the batterypack are made from a different aluminum, and are really hard to re anno.

Lye is fun stuff, but any thing really thin will be eaten away pretty fast. this is how i messed up my triggerframe, luckily i was able to repair it.

It shouldnt be to bad, or to hard to strip your freak back. , it is a relatively simple process. Just remember to do it in a very well ventilated area, tha stuff is very toxic. Also, if you use warm water,it does react faster. i do not reccomend it, but you can do it. remember, always add the chemical to the water, not the other way around.

[Micromag Sith]

could someone pm me and tell me how to anno at home i read about it a long time ago and dont want to get anything wrong if there i a website out there anywhere that shows how to do it a link would be cool too