Starting an Anodizing buisness, need advice!

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

Ok, I already have a building and everything to go ahead with anodizing, I just need to buy equipment and supplies. So far, these are the items I've been looking into:
(from www.caswellplating.com)

-Caswell LCD Professional sized Anodizing kit
-Caswell chrome/nickel combo plating kit
-Sandblaster
-Airbrush
-Aluminum Polishing kit

Is that pretty much everything I need? I am going to do acidwash, fades, designs, pretty much everything. Another thing is, what should my prices be? I was thinking along the lines of the following:

-One color-$90
-Two colors on seperate parts (Ex: gun one color, gripframe another) $95
-Two color fade $100
-Tri fade $110
-4 color fade $125
-more then four color fade $call
-Acidwash $170

-Splash $50
-Tatoos $80

-Polish finish $45
-Sandblasted finish $20

-Powdercoating $75

-Nickel/Chrome Plating $210

Any suggestions will be appreciated. Also, please tell me if the prices need to be adjusted. I am starting up the buisness in June, and haven't purchased any equipment yet, so please tell me if I should find diff. equipment.

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

Here is a final list of the supplies I am buying. I decided not to do powdercoating.

Benchtop Sandblaster
Aluminum and copper alloy polishing kit
25 Amp rectifier
5 packs of Titanium wire
Standard LCD ano kit
Electronic PH tester
Nickel/chrome plating kit
Large felt bob kit (for polishing)
Brass wire wheel
50lbs of 100-170 grit fine glass beads (for sandblaster)

And here are the dyes I'm planing to buy:

Violet DS-4oz
deep red-1pt
flourescent yellow-1pt
flourescent pink-4oz
electric blue-4oz
Brown GL-4oz
grey BL-4oz
golden orange-4oz
green SCG-4oz
Black HBL-1pt
Violet 3D-4oz
Blue 4A-1pt
Yellow 4a-1pt
Red Bordeaux-4oz

Anything else I need? Any color suggestions? Everything came out to be $1548 shipped (I also ordered some extra supplies for the anno kit such as anno seal, Aluminum de-oxidizer & de-smut, Ano fume supressant, Ano & chrome stripper). Thank you for any advice!

[E r y k]

those prices are wayy to high... some people are offering anno 35-50.

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

Originally posted by E r y k
those prices are wayy to high... some people are offering anno 35-50.

You're kidding, right? Do you have any idea how much time and money goes into this process. Not to mention paying phone bills (I already own a building and have electricity). After I anodize about 20 guns I'll barely be breaking even. Cheapest ano I've found so far is $60 for a solid color. I also will have turn around time in about 1-3 weeks max, most places have 3-10 weeks. For acidwash, most people charge around 250, cheapest I've found was $200. Also, this is not going to be a small homebrewed buisness, I actually have professional equipment. Please give me a link and/or phone number to the people that offer that cheap anodizing, I am actually sending off 2 markers to get anoed right now, and I've been looking for a good deal.

[dyeforever]

i dont know about the nickel/chrome plating. i have heard a lot of people chrome and plating their guns. but what do i know, i live in the middle of the sea.

[Mindflux]

Originally posted by RT pRo AuToMaG


You're kidding, right? Do you have any idea how much time and money goes into this process. Not to mention paying phone bills (I already own a building and have electricity). After I anodize about 20 guns I'll barely be breaking even. Cheapest ano I've found so far is $60 for a solid color. I also will have turn around time in about 1-3 weeks max, most places have 3-10 weeks. For acidwash, most people charge around 250, cheapest I've found was $200. Also, this is not going to be a small homebrewed buisness, I actually have professional equipment. Please give me a link and/or phone number to the people that offer that cheap anodizing, I am actually sending off 2 markers to get anoed right now, and I've been looking for a good deal.

https://www.sexyturtle.com

Nicad also does reasonably priced anodizing. He made a post about it in a thread in the dealers forum the other day (not specifically as his main business).

[UnIdentifiedFreak]

This might take more time, but if I was you I wouldn't buy most of those parts from that company because you can just buy everything seperatly and save a bunch of money. Don't quote me on this though.

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

i know there are cheap anodiziers, but nothing in the 30-50 range. I've seen 60 from sexyturtle (that is where I'm sending my gun off to be anodized when I get it back from milling). The thing is, I can't really afford to cut prices any cheaper! After I can get some buisness, prices will go down. Whoever said they don't see many nickel/chrome plated guns, I know, I haven't seen many either, but I'm not only doing paintball things, I'm doing other things too. UnIdentifiedFreak, if you can find parts cheaper, please tell me where! The equipment cost a ton of money from caswell (reason why prices are so high). But I want a kit, not a homebrewed ano setup made of ice chest and a battery charger. Anyway, keep up with the comments and suggestions!

[UnIdentifiedFreak]

Um, sorry I am not sure where you can buy all of the equipment. You might wanna check ebay for an anodizing kit, they are like $200.

[TeamImp]

Hey its SilverLCDBushy from PBN, I say, you get a Non-LCD kit, from my point of view there useless, adn I've been using caswell for a year now, great selection, just dont spend money on NON-Nessecites.

Caswell offfers some good deals on Ebay.

[sgt_easton]

Originally posted by E r y k
those prices are wayy to high... some people are offering anno 35-50.

I completely agree. I'm getting my LPC, sight rail, drop, forgrip, and shorty barrel all done for $30 and I'll have my parts back in three days.

[moocow90]

where are people getting these prices from(link please)? sexyturtle is the cheapest ive seen but one thing is you never want to go cheap on anno or youll just have a sad sad looking gun. quality first

[RT pRo AuToMaG]

yes, please, if you post that you are getting an anodizing job cheap, give me a link to verify. Anodizing is an expensive and very involved process. Are you sure that these people are doing a quality job? Also, do their prices include getting the gun finished before ano? All my prices include either a polished or matte (dust) finish. Another thing, if you get a bulk order with a few other people, then it will be cheaper. I want individual prices. Quality does not come at a cheap price. If you are willing to give me your parts, I will anodize them for $30, but I can't guarentee you that they will still work when you get them back. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, so don't assume that since you are getting a good deal, you are getting a good job. My prices are lower then most anodizing companies, and lowest price i've seen is sexyturtle.

[TheTramp]

[sgt_easton]

The company I went through dosen't have a website - they usually do contracted work and big lots. The reason the price is so low is that they don't specifically exist for the paintball community. If lots of you paintballers in the 12-16 year old range started bringing your guns to this company, I'm sure they'd jack up the price because they know mommy and daddy would pay for it.

So, my point is, if you want a simple anno job (not a splash-fade-tattoo bling bling "Look at me! I spent $10,000 on my gun and I'm cool because of it!"), go to an anno shop that dosen't advertise the fact that they do markers. Also, keep in mind you must have half a brain and realize that you can only give them aluminum parts without o-rings or screws.

I sandblasted my parts first, and then had them annoed in black. They have same finish as the black J&J barrels.

I think $90 for a whole setup, one color, is too much. The only thing I didn't anno was the body and grip frame. The company I went through said I could have done those too for about another $15 or so, and that would being me to a total of $45. So, if mailorder, maybe throw on another $10 to $15 for shipping. That makes a grand total of $60. I think that's a fair price.