anodising

I’ve read alot about anodising, and it seemed quite a simple process. All you need to do is get some alluminium connect it to the positive wire of a battery charger, get another piece of alluminium or lead connect this to the negative side of the battery charger, submerge both bits in a container full of sulphuric acid and de-ionised water, approxiamtely 50-50 mix, turn on the power, the negative side should start fizzing, the positive side also fizzes but nowhere near as much as the negative side. I tend to leave it fizzing until it stops, usually tahes between 1/2 hour / 1 hour dpending on the size of the part, after this I take the part out and wash with clean water then put into a container with dye in it. I usually boil the dye in a cheap electric kettle. The dye I use is a powder dye [ Dylon no. 8 Ebony]. I get different textures on the alluminium I’m anodising by either doing it straght off the machine for a gloss finish or etch it with a solution of costic soda to get a matt finish similar to the finish on scopes and Talon frames etc. All this is very simple, the acid is ready available and so is the de-ionised water and costic soda crystals. Another tip is if you clean your alluminium in costic soda it might turn black, don’t worry this can easly be removed with very little effort if you put the part in sulphuric acid for a short time then take it out and wash it. Cleanliness seems to be the key to a good result. So remember to de-grease the parts thoughly. Wear glooves so you don’t leave grease or oil off your fingers on the parts. And a good electrical contact with the part that your anodising needs to be maintained, and should be done by using alluminium wire. Have a look at the pictures below, this is how I set up the circuit. The end results and the type of dye that I have found works OK. But I am still looking for a better supply and type of dye to use. Cheers Baz.