DIY annodizing

[wjr]

I'm interested in annodizing some of my paintball stuff and I don't really want to sent it away to get anno'd. I think it would be more fun to do myself even though I probably won't do as good of a job. My only question is what do people use as a power supply? The guy that I was reading about used a computer power supply and then switched to a homemade power supply.

[MANN]

battery charger 12v

Google diy anno, and you will get lots of results. If you have access to the chemicals its not hard. The first setup will cost @ the same as sending it away, but after that its much cheaper. Also make sure that the metal you do is VERY clean

[peewee]

there is usually a couple kits on ebay at any given time. personally I have seen what can only be described as "horror stories " when it comes to do it yourself anno's.

[wjr]

there is usually a couple kits on ebay at any given time. personally I have seen what can only be described as "horror stories " when it comes to do it yourself anno's.

I plan on being very safe about it. Also I'm only going to anno my foregrip and front asa adapter first. If they don't turn out well then I won't care too much.

[p8ntball72]

http://www.warpig.com/paintball/technical/anodize.shtml

[thefool]

I accually have 2 power supplies, and would be happy to let go of one of them.

one is a 20 volt, 20 amp supply. Cleaned it up and it works perfectly. Nice and small too.

the other is a 60 volt 30 apm bohemeth. Also works fine. Very heavy becasue it has solid state transistors. Shipping might be a problem.

Also, just for kicks i have a 600 volt 1 amp power supply but that wouldn't really work for annodizing.

Pm with any interest.

These are perfect for annodizing and better than anything you'll likely get your hands on.

[wjr]

Luke- Thanks for the offer, but I've got the procedure understood.

Thefool- Thanks for the offer, but Ive got a 12 volt car charger that should do just the trick.


And wow. That warpig page has a whole bunch of useful info.

[Pacifist_Farmer]

I would try messing around with some aluminum stock before using your setup on anything paintbal related, figure just how your setup is going to work, before putting anything valuable in it.

[CoolHand]

Anodizing in and of itself is not difficult.

Creating a good quality gloss anodize layer with an opaque color and no blemishes using a battery charger, however, IS.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.

[punkncat]

Anodizing in and of itself is not difficult.

Creating a good quality gloss anodize layer with an opaque color and no blemishes using a battery charger, however, IS.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.

Ryan do know what he be spittin' yo!

[wjr]

Anodizing in and of itself is not difficult.

Creating a good quality gloss anodize layer with an opaque color and no blemishes using a battery charger, however, IS.

Good luck, you're gonna need it.

What sort of power supply do you use?

Also, what kind of dye do you use? I'm going to be usinng rit dye, it proably wont turn out as well, but it's really cheap and can be bought loacally.

And if it doesn't turn out well, then I won't mind. My mag already looks really bad. Its got nicks and scratches everywhere,. Not to mention a benchmark frame that the previous owner drilled a hole in that I had to fix with JB welder.

[CoolHand]

What sort of power supply do you use?

Also, what kind of dye do you use? I'm going to be usinng rit dye, it proably wont turn out as well, but it's really cheap and can be bought loacally.

And if it doesn't turn out well, then I won't mind. My mag already looks really bad. Its got nicks and scratches everywhere,. Not to mention a benchmark frame that the previous owner drilled a hole in that I had to fix with JB welder.

When we did ano in house, I had a 1000 watt current sensing laboratory power supply (100V @ 10A, or 100A @ 10V, and could be set to maintain a voltage, or maintain a current setting) Ran me something like $1400 . I cannot remember the brand, I sold it to the guy who used to do the ano for me.

We bought dye from several places, but the most consistent was Caswell Plating. They sell good power supplies, and everything you would ever need to anodize, and do it well.

All that neat stuff costs money though. We bought dye and things like that from them. The acids and most chemicals we sourced elsewhere because of their high cost from Caswell.

Rit Dyes will fade over time. Red turns to a kind of dark blood stain and then to peach. It's not pretty. Blue goes away really fast, if you get it take color at all. Black Rit goes green and then gray.

Also, JB Weld has steel powder in it, which will dissolve out in the ano bath. Be prepared to fix that spot again when you get done ano'ing it. The resin might stay put, but it will be quite a bit weaker, and also porous, so it won't hold air anymore.

[wjr]

Thanks for all of the information. One more thing though. I know that copper conducts better than aluminum, so would copper wire work as a good cathode? Would the sulfuric acid do to it what it does to steel? Thanks.

[Hexis]

the best wire to use it Titanium. After it takes an anno layer, it will still conduct electricity, but it will not be effected by the acid.

[wjr]

I'm trying to keep from ordering anything here, and I don't think that my local hardware store sells titanuim wire. Thanks for the suggestion though.

Copper will work right? I've already got a big supply of it.