anodising
I know this has been done to death but i had a go at coloured anodising and thaught id show how it turnd out.
I didn’t polish it.Its strait out of the jaws so i think it would be even deeper if idv’e spent a bit of time on the wheel.
Just used normal fabric dye disolved in warm water and left it to soak for 10 mins’
Ive seen a bit about fade anodising. Anyone know owt about it ? Should be interesting to try.
Anyway, i’m off to work. Effin’ nights. 🙁
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I did read on one forum that the lead should have at least twice the surface area of the part to be anodised.
Sean.
Just starting my first test runs with my setup , running a 450 PC power supply , think its 12v 4 amps which should be ok for small stuff and im getting some good bubbles as you can see . Got some industrial black die so i should get a good colour……..maybe 😀 . Need some titanium wire which will be alot better than alloy , just where to get some from ? only want 2m at most…. lol.
I have once or twice had the anonde erode off. I use 1.2mm mig wire and it seems ok. Ive been trying to get hold of some titanium welding wire/rods as i think these are quite resistant to eroding.
Cathode is just a piece of lead flashing from when i put up my conservatory. But i have used offcuts of ally plate with the same results.Not sure if the cathode makes a diferance to the surface hardness. I thaught it was just a way of getting the electrickery to pass between anode n cathode
The dye does i think penatrate only the layer of anodise. but when you try n scratch it it is much more wear resistant than just plain ally.
Off to work now. I ate nights. 😥
Sean.
That is the simplest presentation yet.
I might have to give it a go.
Blodnob,
Just what is the composition of your cathode? The diagram shows lead (Pb for the chemists). But I would think that would leave a very soft finish. The photo captions show a lead-aluminum alloy. Is this actually what yu use and where can one obtain it? Also, love the fabric dye effect. Looks very nice. Do you have any idea how it would wear? Does it actually penetrate the surface of the metal?
Thanks in advance for the answers.
Abe
Thank you Blod for posting this!
getting me interested in having a go at it again.
Do you have any troubles keeping a good connection on the Anode?(work)
I had a terrible time with my setup mind you I tried to use aluminum wire for the connection and a)lost connection b)would erode off.
I am wondering if a filter cap would help the situation?
Interesting discussion
Reall like the black you achieved on the insert.
What dye are you using for that?
Walter….
Heres my little set up.
The red wire goes to the part ( anode ) being done and the black to the lead/ally (cathode)
This is whats used for small bits
And this is for the larger bits.
I have an old plastic kettle ( cheers Baz ) that i keep the black dye in. I put the bits into this while cold and then turn it on and bring it to the boil for ten minutes or so.The dye froths up to start with before the dye reaches boiling point and can ( does/has ) boilover so its just a case of flicking the switch on n off.
Seems to work ok so far but am looking to get a propper adjustable power source.
This is all there is to it.Anyone can do it.
Atb, Sean.
Abe
It is not permanent and sucks.
Show us the set up. On what was needed
Anyone ever tried (or even heard of) Birchwood Casey”s “aluminum black” finish? Just curious.
Abe
That core is a work of art!! 😀
Its cheaper than gun kote on the whole. I looked at gunkote and the price turned me off from it although it does sound suprerior.
I use an old 9amp 12v charger and battery acid diluted with deionised water.Such as youd get from a shop to fill your iron.
I left it to fizz for an hour, ish and this is the result.
Here’s a blasted, black core (Eamos’s )
Sean.
Looks nice. Everytime I look into anodizing I change my mind.
I have been using Gun Kote which is a baked on Gun finish. It is as hard as nails and looks great.
You didnt use any electricity and acid? We used to dye all kinds of stuff by letting it soak in dye and water but I didnt know it would work on ali.
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Yep ,what you cant see because of the bubbles is that i cut the lead into a long strip and then coiled it round .That way i get a large surface area in a small space 😀 ….at least thats the plan and im sticking to it ……until it dont work then il change it ….hehe 😀