I've got some cycle cat clip-ons that are currently gold and I want them black. Anyone know a place that does annodizing in the DC area?
You will have to sand blast all of the parts. You can not re-anodize anodized parts. I had the same issue. I bought gun paint from Brownells. It worked very well.
Awesome! That is exactly the information I was looking for - Their Aluma-Hyde product looks perfect.
One does not remove anondizing by sandblasting, it is a chemical process, either sodium hydroxide or a solution of chromic acid and phosphoric acid (best).
Sandblasting will welt the surface. Silica is harder than aluminum. Do not sandblast aluminum unless you use something soft(er) like walnut (which will not remove anondizing).
From ASTM 137:
The composition of that bath is 80 grams of chromic acid in 3.5 liters of water, add 140 ml of 85% phosphoric acid, add water to make 4 liters. The bath is operated at 190 - 200 deg. F. Immerse the part for 15 minutes and then rinse well in water.
Any metal place should be able to do it.
AlumaHyde works very well but it will be much thicker so be careful scratching it when you install.
Good info. You say any metal place, how about some contact information from one you have used. I just ordered the Aluma-Hyde, so I will give that a try. Sounds like a good product - solvent resistant and flat black - also seems like it would be a much thinner coating than other paints, but of course, nothing is as thin as anodizing. Will watch the scratching by taping up all surfaces during the install and waiting the required week for the Aluma-Hyde to cure.
Quote from: angler on February 02, 2009, 07:15:31 AM
Good info. You say any metal place, how about some contact information from one you have used. I just ordered the Aluma-Hyde, so I will give that a try. Sounds like a good product - solvent resistant and flat black - also seems like it would be a much thinner coating than other paints, but of course, nothing is as thin as anodizing. Will watch the scratching by taping up all surfaces during the install and waiting the required week for the Aluma-Hyde to cure.
one issue is that anode coatings tend to be very slick -- i imagine the alumahyde will have a problem sticking to it.
i have used these guys
http://www.alexandriametalfinishers.com/anodizing.htm (http://www.alexandriametalfinishers.com/anodizing.htm)
they re anodized a pistol frame for me.. it had been scratched up and they stripped and resurfaced it.
anodizing is not really a coating you know, it actually bonds directly with the material, so it is absurdly "thin"
ask them about options as well, i think there is a clear-coating treatment for anode now that protects the surface far better
try ascoweb.com
I just sent some pics to Alexandria Metal for a quote.
let us know how it goes. i imagine you'll be happy.
make sure you pick the color well. anode colors can be mixed and matched pretty well.
Well it is a no go with the anodizing. It took them all week to price it a Alexandria Metals and their price for stripping and black hard anodizing was $287. That's right - I could go get new Cycle Cat clip-ons in black for that much.
On the upside, the Aluma-Hyde II came in on the big brown truck a few minutes ago. Brownells is super customer friendly.
What about powdercoating? Is hard anodiziing much more than regular? Does it protect from fade?
Powdercoating adds thickness which would hamper how these parts work. I don't have a ton of experience with the difference between hard and regular anodizing, but I do know that hard is supposed to be more fade resistant. I expected $30-$50 for these parts based on what I had heard from others.....
then you should shop around. i have had no problem sending stuff out, you are just up for the shipping.
i am surprised they wanted that much. ask them why their price was so much out of line with what you expected from other places.
i know the removal is part of the expense. it is a pain.
you can powder aluminum but anode color si much better. hard anode is just surface hardened and desirable for something like this.