I just can't figure this out.

[Empire03]

Originally Posted by acidrain

I doubt the smudges are from desoltion. You are probably experiencing multiple problems. If the black is taking a long time to dye, then the coating is too thin, or the dye is not hot. Could be PH level, but usually that makes the color off too.
Are you touching the parts with bare hands?
Are you rinsing with RO or distilled water?
Are you doing the entire process all at once, or maybe letting the parts sit?
Are you rinsing really well? Between all the steps? Both dunk rinse, and spray rinse?

I know for a fact the coating isnt to thin.I run 1 mill runs for 2 hrs.I also make sure all my dyes are atleast at 140.I racking and handle parts with gloved hands.I rinse with distilled water.Every thing I use is distilled water.Yes,I rinse mostly after every step.

The think that I don't understand is why i ran parts the night before with no smudges at all(dye was green scg).The parts came out perfect besides my racking for the dyeing process.Maybe it is just the black dye?For some reason it gets bubble on the of it.While it is being heated there is always like foam at the top.None of my other dyes do this at all.Is that normal?I am extremely stumped right now.

Thx once again.

[acidrain]

I've never had foamy black dye, but I have had the bubbles leave un-dyed areas. I don't have agitation in my dye tanks, but I manually swish the parts around in the dye, and that has cured the bubbles/un-even dyeing. I'm thinking of adding agitation.
Could it be a math mistake? The surface area is actually more than calculated?
A good base line to go by is to run an exact size of a known alloy plate, and observe the volts for a given CD.
Then, while anodizing, if you see the volts higher or lower, it will be a clue.
Actually, I've done this with 4 alloy types, and as long as you know the alloy of the parts you are anodizing, you can ano in CV mode. I haven't measured surface area in over a year, and have very consistant results. This also cures the problem of different colors on different alloys.
I wouldn't recommend this without good temperature control, base-line experiments, and knowing what alloy your parts are.
If you did this experiment with some 6061, and dyed it as well, it may help determining if the dye is still good.
If you want more info on this method, PM me.

[Empire03]

Well its like foamy and slimy on the top of the dye.Although it never leaves un dyed spots its still way different from all my other dyes.I have no agitation system in there atm.But I do stir it pretty often while it is heating.

[sswee]

Originally Posted by Empire03

Well its like foamy and slimy on the top of the dye.Although it never leaves un dyed spots its still way different from all my other dyes.I have no agitation system in there atm.But I do stir it pretty often while it is heating.

Just something to try. Heat the dye to 180* stirring regularly. Same as you do on the original mix of the dye. Then filter the dye with a coffee filter or aquarium filter angel hair into a clean container.
SS