Acceptable Anodizing flaws?

[OPBN]

Today I finally received my E-mag lowers back from the nearly 5 month+ vacation it had at the anodizer. I am seeing some flaws, such as a "water stain", pitting, missed spot, and dings that were not in the part when it went out. Are these considered acceptable flaws? Granted, I don't do this for a living, so I am not certain what level of quality is to be expected, but am I asking too much? Interested in feedback.

Thanks.

[vf-xx]

Going to go with 'NO'.

[Ratt]

Five months is way too long. Five months for a crappy anno job is way WAY too long. As far as "level of quality to be expected", that depends on the anodizer. Did you use a anodizing company, or did you send 'Chuy's Garage/Home operation"? Any reputable anodizer would (or should) not have taken 5 months, and then send you a botched job as payment for your long wait.
You could raise a stink about it with the company/guy, but the best case scenario is he tells you to send it back and he will redo it. But who's to say that it won't take another 5 months?
I would probably send pics to the guy, and request a refund, then find someone else to use for anno, with the expectation that the guy is not going to give you a refund.

[Ando]

Unacceptable. The pitting means the guy left in the bath too long. Doubtful he'll give you your money back. If he's a known anodizer on any of the forums. I would take pics of everything, send him a copy and tell him your going to post this in his dealer thread if he doesn't either fix (in a timely manor) or refund your money so you can get it done by someone else.

[OPBN]

What I don't quite understand is why there would be pitting. The parts were sent already bead blasted as I had Luke perform this service before sending back so that they would be clean and ready. Am I missing something in the process?

[Spider-TW]

What I don't quite understand is why there would be pitting. The parts were sent already bead blasted as I had Luke perform this service before sending back so that they would be clean and ready. Am I missing something in the process?

Are all of the parts equally pitted? Some aluminum parts will pit more than others when stripped too long. Also, if they had some corrosion previously, bead blasting (and a rough finish in general) hides pores and pits very well. Usually a heavy ano coat will fill the small ones in (up to 1 to 2 mils).

If you haven't, you might try rubbing the "stained" areas with something moderate like a paper towel. Sometimes the stain is just excess dye sitting on the surface that dried after coming out of a hot seal bath. I burnish my home ano'd parts lightly with 0000 steel wool on the flat areas after sealing; leave sharp corners alone since the ano gets thinner there anyway.

[OPBN]

There was no corrosion on the parts prior to beadblasting. Only the top part of the battery box appears to have that amount of pitting. the frame, and other parts are clear. I have used water and a towel to try and wipe off the stain. Nope.

[Spider-TW]

I have an SP "s" asa rail that pitted like that when re-ano'd. I can't tell if it was because the part was cast aluminum or if it was just the poor alloy. Was that an AGD part originally?

[OPBN]

I have an SP "s" asa rail that pitted like that when re-ano'd. I can't tell if it was because the part was cast aluminum or if it was just the poor alloy. Was that an AGD part originally?

Its the top of an E-mag battery box. See pics above.

[OPBN]

Here's a pic of the lowers just prior to being packaged up and shipped out to the anodizer. Note no nicks in the battery box or pitting:

[BenoitOWN]

You know that some anodizer use some wire to hold the part in the bath? Nicks could be the result of it.

Spot with no ano could be from shipping.

[OPBN]

You know that some anodizer use some wire to hold the part in the bath? Nicks could be the result of it.

Spot with no ano could be from shipping.

No other part has nicks like these. Each part when I received it was individually bubble wrapped inside a box filled with popcorn. I don't see how that could be from rub since no other part is showing signs of similiar rubbing.

I do feel I need to add one comment. I used a middle man for this transaction. The person I paid did not do the actual anodizing, he had the parts sent to someone that he uses for other projects. IMO, even if he did not do the actual anodizing, I still feel he is fully responsible for the results/flaws.

My reasoning for creating this thread is to get feedback to make sure I do not have unreasonable expectations. This was my first experience with getting something anodized, and I thought I was taking good precautions in choosing someone reputable to handle it for me after reading some of the horror stories posted here and elsewhere about bad ano jobs. I actually turned down one localish anodizer after seeing a posting of some awful work he did. At one point, about 3 months in, I contacted another anodizer who said he would get it turned around for me quickly if I got it back from my original guy and sent it to him. I was assured at that point that it would only be another week or so... 2 months later, this is what I got.

I will also add that the frame is really decent. I have no real complaints about that. I also had 5 barrel backs that came back prior that were stripped and clear anoed. Those look good as well. Only complaint on those is they werent marked or anything to keep track of the sizes.

[questionful]

****. I would say you should publicize the pictures with the name of the anodizer after confirming that it was his fault, but not ask for a refund or do-over. The parts are going to get played with right? They're bound to gradually acquire little surface imperfections like that anyway. And you can always paint/sharpie the little dings to make them invisible at a glance.

They're sick lowers, even with the minor surface finish imperfections. A little bull**** always has to be dealt with and I don't think you got it TOO bad.

Though I understand that when a gun is a work of art, the details matter a lot. But one way of looking at it is that wear adds character.

[OPBN]

While I realize that comparably, it isn't a lot, I do have over $800 invested in this marker. You really think I should just put up with it because wear adds character? Really?

[questionful]

Well, also because you might not have another option. Say the guy doesn't want to refund you or do it over. Then your only other options would be to sell it and buy another or just pay more for a re-ano. And iirc re-ano'ing further worsens tolerances.

I was just trying to offer a viewpoint that might make it easier to let go and have a more "****-it" attitude which makes life a lot easier.