Newbie with many questions about annodizing paintball guns.

[djisrael1]

Hey,
I have been looking around at getting some paintball guns anodized. I am with my college\'s paintball team and we want go get all of our guns anodized with a tiger like pattern (our mascott). We have been looking around and a guy gave us a quote for 65 per gun, though we would have to have 25 gun min. The more questions I started to ask the higher the price got. Well I am interested in doing it myself now. And I am curious what all would have to go into getting this and how much it would cost. I do not have any experence with anodizing. Most importantly, how hard would it be to make a patern like that? Will it take a lot of trial and error?

On the other hand, if we go ahead with getting our guns anodized by this guy. We want to strip the old annoy off and then get the guns dusted before we send it to him. I hear before you can beadblast a gun you have to get the annoy stripped off.

Lastly, the main advantage I can see with doing it ourselves, is we can do the same patern, and do it as many as we want for cheaper.

Sorry for this novel.
Thank you,
Doron Israel

[mcaswell]

Re: Newbie with many questions about annodizing paintball gu

Hello:

There are many people successfully using our Anodizing Kit who have never anodized before, so you\'ll be in good company. See http://www.caswellplating.com/aluminum.htm and http://www.caswellplating.com/restgalmenu.htm

One kit would probably be all you\'d need to buy from us. You need to get some battery acid from an automotive store. You also need a power supply. A car battery will usually suffice.

The pattern is really up to your, or your friends\', artistic ability. A simple cutout template would likely do the job.

The key is to practice on a few scrap parts first, have patience and be willing to learn. We offer free tech support if you get stuck.

We sell anodize stripper if you just want to strip them. See the page above.

It will certainly be much cheaper, and more rewarding, to do it yourselves.

[djisrael1]

Re: Newbie with many questions about annodizing paintball gu

Doron Israel

[mcaswell]

Re: Newbie with many questions about annodizing paintball gu

What are the dimensions of the parts you want to anodize?

You\'ll be able to anodize many parts with one batch of acid. When it stops working, just buy some more battery acid.

To nickel plate stainless steel, you\'ll need to plate them first with a special strike coat called Stainless Steel Activator. See http://www.caswellplating.com/access.htm.

If you get the activator and a regular nickel plating kit, you\'ll have everything you need. See http://www.caswellplating.com/nickel.htm

[djisrael1]

Re: Newbie with many questions about annodizing paintball gu

Well the longest are barrels which are 1x16
The large peices are 2x5x5. That is all I can think of. Well for everything we need, how much would and what all we need. Anodizeing kit, Nickle kit, dyes:black orange and blue. As well as the ability to nickle plate aluminum and stainless steel, also how good is the plug n\' plate? What would the price be?
Thank you
Doron

[mcaswell]

Re: Newbie with many questions about annodizing paintball gu

1 x 16 won\'t fit in the supplied tanks, so you\'ll need to get some plastic containers that will accomodate the barrels.

There are some tips for this in the manual. One is to purchase some plastic guttering and use this. Another option is plastic window flower boxes.

Anodizing Kit - $173.00
Dyes - Orange, Blue are $9.00 each. Black is $27. Makes 2 Gallons - Dyes Total:$45.00
Nickel Plating Kit 2 Gallon - $175.00 - $20 (No need for 2 manuals) = $155.00
Zincate Concentrate (To Plate Aluminum) x 2 = 2 Gallons = $70.00
Stainless Steel Activator x 2 - 2 Gallons = $76.00

TOTAL = $519.00 + Shipping

[djisrael1]

So how many guns can that amount of dye go? Is it enough for ~15 markers?
-Doron

[mcaswell]

It will probably be enough.

It depends on how much of the part you want to dye.

[djisrael1]

I am intersted in going with either nickle plating or anodizing. Is nickleplating much easier than anodizing? We have all aluminum parts. Doing paterns on anodizing seems like it would be hard. Also if we nickle plate something would we have to polish it up before to get a nice look after plating it? What would be the easiest and better looking way todo it yourself?
-Doron

[mcaswell]

Neither system is really hard. The question is, what sort of finish do you want...a nickel plated finish or an anodized finish.

In either system, if you want a high shine on your end result, you'll need to polish the part prior to plating/anodizing.

[ifeldsted]

Fellow paintballer anodizing

Hello,

Saw this post and had to reply. I too play paintball and have been anodizing my own markers as well as others on my team. Parts or it are very easy and other difficult. I read over most of your questions and I can answer what I have come across my self. Might help if I know the kind of marker.

Dusting and bead blasting? No the anno does not have to be removed before this as the beadblast will remove the anno. How ever odds are you will strip it after anyways so I would do it before to prevent removing too much material. Remember to tape off any surfaces that slide, like bolt and barrel. Also once you have blasted it do not touch it with you bare hands for 1 hr or so, the grease from your fingers can appear in the finish.

I have noticed that not all the parts of a marker are made of the same grade of aluminum. Because of this I find some minor differences in color even though I do the same process.

How the color looks has allot to do with how you prepare the alumium. I use a dremel tool and a polish called autsosol to buff it.

If you like we can email info back and forth reach me at [email protected]