REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

[saiyan7]

OK.
Ive tried to grind the anodized coating off of my sportbike frame and swingarm with the abrasive flap wheel. I am now spending countless hours trying to get the scratches out. How do i remove the anodizing without having to use any sandpaper below 400 grit. This is taking forever. Someone please help and give me explicit directions. These are my steps as of now.
1. abrasive flap wheel on drill
2. 220 grit paper on palm sander
3. 400 grit paper on palm sander
4. 600 grit paper by hand with water
5. 1000grit paper by hand with water
6. 1500grit paper by hand dry
7. black compound on spiral sewn wheel on drill.
8. red compound on spiral sewn wheel on drill
9. Mother's Mother's Mother's by hand

What am I doing wrong this is taking too long. HELP I want to ride this thing again before I get old.

[mtlplshr]

Re: REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

hey man,i feel your pain!!first,what rpm is the drill you are useing?when i cut rough alum.,i use a 4600 rpm sander/grinder with a "ventilated" or a spiral sewn wheel.used with emery or tripoli,you can cut 400 grit scatches out easy,even 220 grit if you work it hard enough.never start sanding any courser than u have to.if you can access the frame with a palm sander,i would go 180 or 220 first.then 400 thoroughly,emery on spiral (you should have a nice clean shine by now)and finish with a soft wheel with green or white rouge.i started polishing with a 2600 rpm buffer,and had very good results with it,but expierience has shown a faster rpm cuts much faster and better than a slow one.you can cut out a lot of sanding marks with a 5000ish rpm machine,a hard wheel,and emery rouge.i have never sanded any finer than 400 grit.if you plan on doing any serious polishing,a good buffer/grinder is the first thing you need.i just bought a 4600 rpm sander from sears for $99.but it is a good size machine.i saw they have a var. speed drill that goes to 2500 rpm in their catalog for like $59 that i'm gonna get to use with 3&4 inch wheels to get into tight spots.i hope this helps you out

[mtlplshr]

Re: REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

i havent tried it,but i'm told ez off oven cleaner works,and caswell sells remover.the one time i delt with anodizing i sanded it off with 400 grit on a palm sander

[saiyan7]

Re: REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

Thanks,
I think that's my problem. my drills are only 1200-1300 rpm drills. I'm such a dope, now I'm stuck with a huge box of 800grit paper and a huge box of 1000grit paper. Thaks for all your help. This is going to be my side work to pay for the new arrival in my household. I'd better invest in some better tools.

[PRD#5]

Re: REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

I use a sodium hydroxide solution to remove anodizing.
It's a dilute mixture of Red Devil Lye drain opener and water. It removes it very well.
CAUTION: it is very caustic. Wear rubber gloves and use in a well ventilated area.

Hope this helps,
Don

[saiyan7]

Re: REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

ok i have the annodizing stripper so what is the mixture stripper to water. I'm not mixing the whole thing at once. just a half gallon at a time.

[mcaswell]

Re: REMOVING ANODIZED COATINGS

4-6oz of stripper to 1 Gallon water.