plug and plate/plate and anodize

[elton10]

are any kits available that can be used for plating and/anodizing? nickel plating and anodizing aluminum.
Can anodizing be done with a plug and plate? I'm only going to be doing a few small parts at a time for prototyping

[mcaswell]

Sorry, but your question is not very clear.

You can't anodize using Plug N Plate. Plug N Plate is a plating system, not an anodizing system. Anodizing is a completely different process.

[tbloss001]

Ive never heard of a brush process that worked for anodizing aluminum.
If you only have a few small parts for prototyping, look into "Alodine" coating. It's a chemical dip, non electrical process that coats aluminum and creates a finish that looks very much like regular anodizing.

Do a search on "Alodine" and I'm sure you'll find a supplier.
It's not that expensive or dificult to use.

[elton10]

Thanks for the response. As regards the clarity of my question: if I buy..lets say a nickle plating kit..can I also use the tanks etc for anodizing.. assuming I change the solutions?
I figured plug and plate wwouldn'twork... what kind of power source would I need to allow me to plate and anodize.. would a battery or battery charger and rheostat do the trick?

thanks again

[mcaswell]

You can use the same power supply (battery or charger), but the rest of the hardware is not interchangable.

[elton10]

How does the Alodine measure up to anodized finshes in terms of wearability. scratch resistance tc? What Im most likely to be doing is very small batchs of small parts which customers want a different color than our standard black(out sourced to a commercial anodizer).

Originally Posted by tbloss001

Ive never heard of a brush process that worked for anodizing aluminum.
If you only have a few small parts for prototyping, look into "Alodine" coating. It's a chemical dip, non electrical process that coats aluminum and creates a finish that looks very much like regular anodizing.

Do a search on "Alodine" and I'm sure you'll find a supplier.
It's not that expensive or dificult to use.

[mcaswell]

Chromate Conversion (aka Alodine® or Iridite®) is a chemical treatment process for aluminum used to provide corrosion protection and surface preparation for paint and adhesives.


We have the same material


PROD ALCHROM880 880 Aluminum Chromate 1 Pint $29.00


880 Aluminum Chromate gives a light iridescent yellow to brown chromate finish for aluminum.

[elton10]

can it be dyed like anodizing? Thanks again

Originally Posted by caswell

Chromate Conversion (aka Alodine® or Iridite®) is a chemical treatment process for aluminum used to provide corrosion protection and surface preparation for paint and adhesives.


We have the same material


PROD ALCHROM880 880 Aluminum Chromate 1 Pint $29.00


880 Aluminum Chromate gives a light iridescent yellow to brown chromate finish for aluminum.

[mcaswell]

No, the conversion process gives it's own color, which cannot be altered.