Aluminium Brightener, any good?????

[ceefna]

Hi everbody, my first post from the UK. I wanted to know if any of you use the chemical brighteners for aluminium and are they any good, also are these a replacement for the de-smut process? I have searched google and found formula for Albrite 159 it contains:-
Phosphoric Acid 50-80%
Nitric Acid 5-20%
Sulphuric Acid 10-20%
Are there any chemists viewing who know if this mixture would work/ and what ratio to dilute with water as I cant seem to find ready made product in England.

Thanks for your time
Ceefna

[dmiom]

hi, some interesting products there.

Most of the brighteners I found when I looked last time included hydrofluoric acid, and there's no way I would be keen to have that here! The ones you've found (and I suspect there's a little more to the recipe than just the hazmat percentages in the MSDS) are Phosphoric based - still not nice and still a 'strong' mix - I wonder how you would dispose of exhausted solution? and some of them are only in 75kg or 1.75 tonne IBC containers!

If you haven't already done so, it might be worth having a chat with Jeep, the chemist, at Caswell Europe (UK).

Dave

[ceefna]

Hi Dave,
Thanks for the reply, Think your probably right about the other things in the mix. There are a few online chemical shops in the uk that list the chemicals in 500ml,1ltr and 2.5lts bottles so wouldn't need to go full industrial scale. Also on waste disposal there is a lovely little stream at the bottom of my garden!!!!!! just kidding. Think more reasearch is req, Didn't see a forum on Caswell Europe or is it a phone call to Jeep?


Ceefna

[dmiom]

hi Ceefna, the big minimum order quantities I was referring to were for the Albrite/Phosbrite proprietary range.

You're right, there's no UK-specific forum - I either give them a call on 01420 474961 (usually Linda who answers but she'll get Jeep to call you back) or e-mail them info@caswelleurope.co.uk - the web site says they're closed until next Tuesday 8th. Sept. 2009.

however .... having just gone to the UK web site to check the phone number ..... I've just noticed in the product list "Aluminium Brightener"!!!! - not sure what formulation this one is ?

(usual disclaimer - nothing to do with Caswell UK other than being a satisfied customer)

cheers / Dave

[spankey666]

brightner isnt a replacement for de-smut, but can replace caustic soda for first cleaning and / or for removing anodise.
its marketed in the uk as "alu-bright" and also available from machine-mart for a couple of quid a litre.
its great at cleaning brake dust of alloy wheels, but in reality for anodising i get better finishes with caustic soda and plain old nitric acid as it is rather aggresive and does leave a dull finish. i rang around lots of chemical suppliers in the uk on a quest for something to remove polishing wax from polished billet and this was all any one could come up with, loads of free samples from lots of companies, all ended up being the same stuff.

[danielwilcox]

brightner isnt a replacement for de-smut, but can replace caustic soda for first cleaning and / or for removing anodise.
its marketed in the uk as "alu-bright" and also available from machine-mart for a couple of quid a litre.
its great at cleaning brake dust of alloy wheels, but in reality for anodising i get better finishes with caustic soda and plain old nitric acid as it is rather aggresive and does leave a dull finish. i rang around lots of chemical suppliers in the uk on a quest for something to remove polishing wax from polished billet and this was all any one could come up with, loads of free samples from lots of companies, all ended up being the same stuff.

i found that carbeurator cleaner sold in the gallon cans at the auto parts place works great for removing polishing wax. I just dip the parts in there, and it wipes off super easy, no scrubbing neccesary. Hands down the easiest way i've found to remove it yet. I get mine from napa.


Anyways, i searched and found this thread while looking for something refered to as "bright dip" by some anodizing places. Basically i'm looking for a way to get out of a ton of hand polishing before anodizing. Anyone have a line on some stuff i can get here in the states?

[sswee]

Anyways, i searched and found this thread while looking for something refered to as "bright dip" by some anodizing places. Basically i'm looking for a way to get out of a ton of hand polishing before anodizing. Anyone have a line on some stuff i can get here in the states?

I think what you were searching for is a multi-acid mix used at elavated temperatures by professional shops. It from all I've read is a high risk, high cost method for the hobbyist. Depending on the part size and degree of polish you are looking for, a tumbler would be more in line. There are some pics of tumbler polished parts in my member album. They sit on a sheet of Sunday comics to get an idea of how the shine is.
SS

[danielwilcox]

I think what you were searching for is a multi-acid mix used at elavated temperatures by professional shops. It from all I've read is a high risk, high cost method for the hobbyist. Depending on the part size and degree of polish you are looking for, a tumbler would be more in line. There are some pics of tumbler polished parts in my member album. They sit on a sheet of Sunday comics to get an idea of how the shine is.
SS

I have a couple tumblers, up to 18lbs, but my parts are about 6" in diameter, and 1/8" thick (bicycle chainrings) so they're both a little too small unless i run only one at a time, which i cant do since i semi mass produce these. they tend to bottleneck up in the tumbler and get all dinged up from the other parts if there's more than 1 in there. Is there any way to avoid this? if i had a larger pot, it might help, but i cant really afford it just yet.