Basic Anodizing questions

[OutlawPaintball]

Hi guys,
My name is Chris Shaffer and i am the owner of a large paintball field in Austin Texas and I am about to start offering a anodizing service. I am going to start out with the Caswell basic kit and the MASTECH DC POWER SUPPLY 30 volt 10 amp unit.

I have some prep questions, to get a true gloss finish how much polish work will i have to do before anodizing? What should i use to polish, what wheels and what compounds? What are you guys doing to get a dust finish i know its bead blasting but what media are you guys using and what grit?

Anyone have any recomedations on a blasting cabinet? With a blasting cabinet do you have to where respertory protection or is it all contained in the unit.

Thanks,
Chris Shaffer

[rclint]

If you run into any cast aluminum everything will change, below is some general helpful things that come to my mind

First I have almost done away with buffing, a good grade of aluminum along with a etch gives a nice color. If you do want to buff the parts look thru the caswell buffing manual, it has lots of good info http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm

For blast if you want that course rough finish I suggest aluminum oxide medium grit, I would choose around a 220 grit. You can look online to see what blast cabinet wil lwork well for you, I wear a dusk mask when blasting... just do not use sand

You will need to make your connections to your work piece (part being anodized) perfect, and have a way to do this every time, this is where most parts fail the connection point. I suggest the caswell sput welder, and some Titanium spring wire to make some spring clips from.

Hope this helps

Clint

[acidrain]

Welcome Chris,
If you've never anodized before, you have a learnig curve that we'll help you with as you go.
Get all your stuff set up, try some experiments, dial in your temperatures, and learn from your mistakes.

As for the finishes, those will come after you have some success, but here is what I do:
Use black compound on a spiral sewn sisal wheel, followed by tan compound on a spiral sewn cotton wheel. You can get it much finer than that, but it will be a waste of time, as some loss of gloss is normal from the ano process.

Medium-fine Glass beads (only), blasted at about 60psi in a small blast cabinet. The trick is to give it a quick dusting without spending too much time in one place, and it will turn out even.
I use this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45411 but had to add a light.

[destroyer125]

I made my blast cabinet from a large clear rubbermaid tub with thick gloves and a window added on later, ghetto rigged. But it works well.

[OutlawPaintball]

Thanks for all the tips guys, I will have everything set up on Monday for my first runs. One more question is 10 amps going to be ok, or should i go more?

[acidrain]

10 amps will get you in the 1.5 - 2.0 sq. ft. range. You'll be surprised how fast the SA adds up with PB parts. Keep in mind a larger run will also generate more heat. If your tank is on the small side (less than 20 gallons), I wouldn't try to do too much at once or the temperature will rise and ruin the run. You'll want to control the ano temp to (ideally) 68F-70F.
I see you're from Texas... you might consider a chiller: http://www.aquastealth.com/index.asp...PROD&ProdID=93
Of course you'll want all the parts to match, so bigger is better... 50 gallon tank with a 20 amp PS temperature controlled with that chiller would work well.

[OutlawPaintball]

Thanks for the info i have a 10 amp unit on the way, I'm using the Caswell kit to get started but i will see how much demand there is. That cooler looks like it could be a life saver. So with a 10amp unit should i be able to do a whole gun? Body, frame, asa, front block all in one batch? I have hear it is hard to match colors that you don't do together? I will have some pictures up soon of my setup so everyone can see. I don't think the 6 gallon buckets are going to last long i think i will have to go bigger soon.

[OutlawPaintball]

Anyone have any pictures of how you have your work area's laid out? I am starting to build tables for everything today. I'm starting with 6 gal buckets but i am quickly going to switch to at least a 20 gal tank.

Thanks,
Chris Shaffer

[sswee]

Shows several different size set ups.

http://forum.caswellplating.com/phot...ry.php/cat/510

[OutlawPaintball]

Where are you guys getting your blast media at? The local harbor freight had glass beads in 80 grit.What are you using AcidRain?

Anyone using the utility sinks from home depot for a anodizing tank? its 23 gallons looks like it could be a good size sturdy tank.

I think i am going to buy that cooler just because i don't think i will ever be able to keep the temps below 80 degrees her in Texas.