I know this is a caswell site but its the only active anodising forum I've found - so please be kind and give me a helping hand. I've been doing tones of reading over the past few months and think I have a pretty good handle on things. I've set up a small anodising station in my workshop only to be hit with tones of dissapointment.
My process is as follows:
Tank 1 - 5% nitric acid - set at approx 60deg temp for 10 mins
Rinse
Tank 2 - 20% sodium hydroxide approx 60deg temp for 10 min (tested up to 30 mins)
Rinse
Tank 3 - 30% Sulphuric Acid - approx 60deg for various lengths of time using a car battery charger at either 4A or 6A - the test parts are small so I'm assuming that the if there was too much amps that they woudl pit and burn.
....now for the results....
First cleaned and scrubbed
Tank 1 - looks fine - not much happening - water sheets off after
Tank 2 - bubble bubble and more bubble - seems to soften the finishing and make it a bit matt looking
Tank 3 - bubble bubble bubble - gives a matt/grey finish to it. I've tried leaving it in for various amounts of time.
Dye - this is the kicker - no matter what I do, using clothing dye of types people have said works, the dye just sheets off the part.
The only thing I've noticed is that there is a pink tint around the cathode during anodising - contaminate?
PLEASE help - I was thinking of mixing up more eletrolite but I didn't want to waste what I had. Then there's the battery charger - is it just not up to it? The part seems to be conducting due to the current.
As for material I've tried different 6063's and 60601's of scrap I had here and nothing - again please be kind and give me a hand!
-> yes very sad