Repeated strippings.

[r3zjimbo]

Im thinking of buying the ano kit to do my paintball gun in hopes that if it sucks i can do it over and over again until i like it.

Would there be any problems with me doing regular strippings to my gun (say...twice a month?)

Any feedback is greatly appreciated, and I thank you in advance.

[M_D]

Everytime a part is stripped, it takes a little bit of the base metal away, and that is if it is done right and carefully. You will eventually start to loose defination, and screw holes and etc. will start getting loose. The first time or two it isn't bad, but it does start to add up significantly if done too many times. So I wouldn't plan to do it over and over on an extended basis.

There is at least one type of stripper that doesn't do this, but it is more toxic and hazardous. Even most commercial anodizers don't use it anymore from what I understand.

[jtsuttle]

Even with a special stripper, I believe you would still lose some of the base metal each time the part is striped. Don't quote me on exact numbers but I read somewhere (AAC.org I think) that when the anodize layer grows it is 60% growth and 40% penetration. So for example if you put a .001" anodize layer on a part then .0006" of it grew outwardly and the other .0004" grew into the base metal. To strip the anodize completely you would also have to remove that .0004" of base metal. If you did this, let's say 10 times then you would be .004" smaller on all surfaces. That would be .008" on diameters and make for some very sloppy bolt holes and o-ring sealing surfaces. Hope this helps and does not discourage you, but I would hate for you to ruin your paint ball gun unnecessarily.

[M_D]

Yes, you would loose the material used by the anodizing with the acid stripper, but it supposedly doen't attack the base metal and continue to eat that away.

[NeoMoses]

The tolerances will be different depending on what type of gun it is. You'll likely start to see the gun lose efficiency after a couple of anodizes, then if you continue, you'll start to have leaks because O-Rings aren't as compressed as they used to be.

1-2 anodizes would be the max I would do on a paintball gun. Be careful when stripping not to leave the parts in too long; the stripper does attack the base metal.

[Fibergeek]

M_D is referring to a stripper comprised of a solution of phosphoric and chromic acids. It is used heated to boiling (its much less effective at lower temperatures) which makes it far worse. Toxic, very noxious, and highly corrosive to organics (like you). You don't want to go here, truly a case of "the cure being worse than the disease".

Jtsuttle is quite correct about some surface aluminum being converted to it's oxides during the anodization reaction.