Hey Tom, question about BlackVCG's anodized Emag ?

[CFD323]

I saw his blue Emag on this board and I emailed him for some info concerning where he got it done, cost etc. He said that AGD did a run of 50 of those dark blue ano jobs and they're all sold out now. He said that PK Customs did the work on them. They look totally awesome !! I'm looking to get the same color done on my Emag and I was wondering what kind of cost I would be looking at to do the same ano job as BlackVCG's gun ? Is that blue a specific color # or is it just a dark or navy blue ?
Also does the anodizing scratch or is it chemically mixed into the body parts ? Does the anodizing affect any of the gun's tolerances ?

Here's the link to the picture of his gun. Scroll down about half the page to see it.

http://www.automags.org/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68523

I would appreciate any help you could give me concerning this.

[Mossman]

Anno can effect tolerances, but in a mag where nothing threads into the annoed parts you wont have to worry. The process works by creating a very thin layer of aluminum oxide on the surface on the metal (actually harder than just aluminum). It is porous and can be dyed.

You're looking at probably around 150 for the stripping, polishing (or bead blasting, depends whether you want gloss or satin finish), anodizing, and coloring.

There are tons of respected places that could do this for you. White wolf is cheap but is known to take a while. this new Xtreme something place that is popping in up in peoples sig's (search for smokee), is doing single color annos for 75 each just to get going IIRC.

Anyother respectable option is to try it yourself at home. All it takes is a bucket, a car battery charger, some battery acid you can get at most auto parts stores, some dye, and patience (and willingness to experiment and research).

Anyhow, yes, it can easily be recreated on your emag. There's no way you be guaranteed to get the exact color but they can get pretty darned close.

[magman007]

yes, mossman is right, you can do it your self, i actually did, and as i may say, it came out smashing, yet i have no pictures of it. Its new owner should have them up soon... I hope....


I will tell you, the grip frame, and the batterypack will give you some trouble, so be careful there, also if you do it at home, dont use the warpig instructions, there too vauge. also AGD is using A++ anno in pa now to do all of their x-mags

[BlackVCG]

When I said PK Customs, I intended on saying PK Selective, sorry about that.

[Miscue]

Black's EMag's right handed twin...

[Army]

And his red-headed step-brother!

[CFD323]

up

[CFD323]

up

[magman007]

why are you upping? is there somethign you still need answered? also, yes, it can mess with tollorences

[CFD323]

wanting to get the specific ano color from Tom....IS that OK with you ?

[BlackVCG]

I can't seem to reply to your last e-mail, so I'll reply here. Yes, the finish shows scratches. It's a gloss finish so it shows scratches from fine dust and just normal use. If you want a finish that doesn't show scratches, go with a dust finish. This isn't a finish you want if you want it to look good and be able to play hard.

[magman007]

sorry bro, but the up up up thing gets really annoying, and the color could be found out on your own by calling pk select. tom usually does not respond to a post 2 times. im just lettin you know

[Smokee_2_7]

Its hard to garantee a match without an 'original color peice' to have in hand to match to. However, a single color darker, metallic blue is definitly do-able. If you want a polished, shiney finish, many pre-existing scratches can be removed during buffing. Really nasty or deep scratches are eaisly lightened, but cost extra to totally remove.

The annodized surface is much more resistant to scratching than un annodized aluminum is. However, it can still (and will) scratch over normal playing use. That is, unless you never play in any bunker but a standup, and never set you gun down on anything but a soft cloth.

If you want to be able to 'hide' scratches eaiseir, a matte finish or a bead-blast finish is a better way to go. It's not bright and shiny like polished, but gives a nice textured look to the metal.


The one thing that I found out recently about 'doing it yourself is the Dye used. Many people use somthing similar to RIT dye. This will work, but is not as colorfast as the dyes that we (and other annodizing companies) use. It tends to fade eaisier when exposed to sunlight and weathering conditions. I belive I read somewhere that on the colorfast scale of 1 to 10, RIT dye scores somthing like a 2. I do know that the dyes we use are rated at least a 7 or 8.


Finally, Mossman is right about 'searching for smokee'. You can visit our website, or the thread in the dealers forum for any other questions, details, or pricing.


Hope this helps,


Carl