Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

[Paintbalaguy]

Anyone no where i can get a larger anodizng tank, about 20 gallons or someother type of container that will work as a anodizing tank. Thanks.

Eric Laakmann

[sswee]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

Home Depot has a cheap utility sink for $18.00 made of HDPE that is 20 gallon and is approx. 21" square X 12" deep when full. I've been running one for awhile with no problems. There are pics of it in the album. It comes with steel legs and has a 1-1/2" drain you can cap or plumb a PVC ball valve to drain the tank. The new one I am setting up now is plumbed with a caustic circulation pump and ball valve for a drain. I'll post pics of the new setup in the album when I change it out later this week.

[Paintbalaguy]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

wow, that sounds awsome! and dirt cheap, since I have 2 rectifiers I am gonna buy 2, is this it?

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc%2fsearchResults.jsp&[email protected]@@@[email protected]@@@&BV_EngineID=ccffaddfimmkkgfcgelceffdfgidgkk.0&MID=9876

Also I want to put a better agitation system in and I have seen some pics on caswell website of pbc pipes that criss cross back and forth, how could I set up somthing like that. I definatly think that I want to get alot of practice at this and start a small paintball gun anodizing bussiness now.

Also what do you think a bead blasting cabinate would run me? I already have a compressor, 180psi and I am not sure what the flow rate is but I know its high.

[sswee]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

This is the sink info.

23 In. X 25 In. White Single Bowl Utilatub Laundry Tub
Model 14
Internet/Catalog 162468
Store SKU # 191 890
$17.98

The PVC grid for aeration is 1/2"CPVC pushed together, not glued, so it can be adjusted or modified. There are plugs of polyurethane hot glue in the short pieces that connect the T's together so that each runner is fed individually. It gives a more uniform flow. I wrapped a two inch wide strip of sheet lead on each end to keep the setup on the bottom and in place. I drilled 1/8"holes every 2". Best thing to do when you get you sink is fill half way with water and setup your grid and get it adjusted out before filling with electrolyte.

Check Caswell on the blaster. They're on the right side of the page, about half way down. Bench and floor models.

http://www.caswellplating.com/aids/index.html

[acidrain]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

http://order.harborfreight.com/EasyAsk/harborfreight/results.jsp

I use the gray one on this page, and added a light. The red top loader with a light for $99.99 looks like a good deal. Finding the glass beads locally is the hard part... I found a place withing 15 mi of me that carries 50lb bags of medium glass beads for $35. Don't use any other medium, and don't blast anything but aluminum.
As for the tank... I use a 40gal plastic tote bin that I got from Fred Meyer, then built an insulated plywood box around it with a lid that holds my entire settup... tank, heat exchanger, and racking system. The box has 2x4's placed inside the box so that the weight of the liquid is supported. I don't have a drain line, but I do have a submerged circulation pump that can pump-out the acid as needed.
With this larger tank, I barely have enough room to get an entire paintball gun in it... I wish it were bigger, and had a 20 amp CC PS instead of the 10 amp one I bought. Hind site is 20/20, so think really hard about how you want your settup.

[Paintbalaguy]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

I have a 3 amp recitfier so I am thinking a 20 might be smarter becuase the settings on a 20 amp recitifer or 20-3 for consistancy and then 3-.1. so I will have any sized batch covered. Where did you find the lead plates, I have been looking all over for them, do they have to be on both sides of the part for good results becuase I have been getting fine ones with a bucket and the parts being on one side of it and one plate being on the other. Speaking of fine results can anyone please esplain to me what causes this:


i am not talking about the white mark but the little darker scales, that has happened on two parts already and I am getting worried about it now and caswells trouble shooter has no info on how to fix a problem like that.

[sswee]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

Caswell sells 8"x 8" lead plates listed as a GP plate or anod plate under Anodes in plating supplies.

http://www.caswellplating.com/kits/access.htm#anodes

The spots usually show more in cast aluminum from a poor mix in the cast when it was poured or high level of contaminates like silicone. Sometimes you'll see them in billet if the part was machined aggressively and developed hot spots in the material. The method to get rid of them varies with the part. Sometimes just stripping, buffing, and reanodizing will do it. Etching helps sometimes. Acidrain does alot of paintball guns. He can probably tell you just what you need for that piece.

[RedRiver]

Re: Larger anodizing tanks, 20 gallon or so

If you ask me, when you stripped the original anodizing off this drop forward, it would appear the you pretty much rinsed it and went straight to the anodizing tank. There doesn't appear to have been any surface preperation done to this part other than the strip.

I forget who said it, though I'm sure we've all said it at one time or another but as the saying goes : "Garbage in, garbage out". Meaning that quality of the part(s) being anodized will only be as good as the surface preperation that went into them prior the anodizing. Type II anodizing (for appearance) is ALL about prep work...