Candy Apple Red

[Countryboy1966]

Good evening folks. I am new to anodizing, but I have been anodizing sucessfully for the last few weeks. I have a customer looking for a similar color to candy apple red. I have Red Borderex (Spelling), but it is still too light. Can someone share any tips via message boards here or perhaps via pm. I have the color wheel, but it is only so useful in this scenario cause color on paper doesn't look like color on aluminum.

Thanks!

[Cartierusm]

I did the Bordeaux Red on some 1 mil 6061 for 20 minutes in the color and 20 in the sealer and it came out looking candy apple red to me. What alloy was it and what ano thickness?

[ddrink]

This is the closest I've been able to get, maybe someone else has a better way. Polish, very light bead blast, ano to 1 mil, 20 minute dye.

[BobFrapples]

I've gotten basically the same results as ddrink. However mine was a little lighter/brighter I believe.
I did a full polish to buff out the dings and prep the part (didn't blast at all). And degreased in a detergeant mixture not Caswells (doesn't dull the part I find ).
With a final buff (yellow compound) after the anodized part (same as ddrink, dye for 20mins). It keeps a nice shine, with a wipe in WD-40 it should also bring a little more colour.

[sswee]

RF Putter in Red Bourdeaux - Caswell Inc Photo Gallery

Pic of putter in red bourdeaux, with pic of deep red next to it. Putters have polished and bead blasted surfaces.

[Countryboy1966]

I did the Bordeaux Red on some 1 mil 6061 for 20 minutes in the color and 20 in the sealer and it came out looking candy apple red to me. What alloy was it and what ano thickness?

I am in the Bordeaux Red color for 20 and sealer for 20 as well using the Bordeaux Red. I am however not getting anywhere close to 1 mil thickness. To make sure I understand 1 mil, 1 mil = .001" correct? I am measuring .0001-.0002" I am following the caswell manual for anodizing times. Per haps this is another topic and another look at calculating amps.

Thanks!

[acidrain]

Make sure your ano tank is no more that 70F.
Make sure your ano bath is 1:3 battery acid/water.
Pick a current density of between 4.5 and 6 amps per sq. ft.
Using the 720 rule, calculate you ano time to achieve 1 mil.
If you're still having problems, check the ph level of the dye, and consult the ph chart in the stickies. Dyes are extremely sensitive to ph.

[sswee]

All of the coating does not grow from the original dimension up like it would with a paint. It is more like a conversion coating where it takes some of the base material to form it. It is to aluminum what rust is to steel.
What CD are you running? Run time? Tank temp?
SS

[Countryboy1966]

All of the coating does not grow from the original dimension up like it would with a paint. It is more like a conversion coating where it takes some of the base material to form it. It is to aluminum what rust is to steel.
What CD are you running? Run time? Tank temp?
SS

For this run, my acid bath was at 70° F. Duration was 90minutes. 20 min in Dye and 20 Min in Sealer.

I calculated my surface area at 33.636 IN².
Material: 6061 aluminum.
Passed Water Break Test
My CD was 1.05.
I have a rectifier and it never flipped off of CC during the run.

My calculation to acheive CD was (33.636in²/144in²)*4.5Amp=1.05 Amps
Run time was 90 minutes in acid bath
My Dye temp was 135°

I really appreciate everyone's help. I am going to investigate if I calculated my amperage correctly.

[acidrain]

There's your problem... not a thick enough coating. 90 minutes at 4.5 CD = >.6 mil.
Your CD is 4.5, not 1.05. CD is your chosen amps per sq. ft.
You need a full 1 mil for red.
At 4.5 CD, you'll need to ano for a full 160 minutes.
If you want to speed things up, go with 6 amps per sq. ft., and ano for 120 minutes.