A complete set of instructions on how to anodize aluminum at home, from thefintels:
Anodizing aluminum is another one of the projects I wanted to try. After reading up on it, it seemed fairly straight forward to do. Being in the grips of a Midwest winter, it seemed like a good time to get started. That, and the fact that I'm using aluminum more and more with each new rocket project.
Why anodize aluminum? Three reasons:
For my first attempt I'm going to use the absolute basic approach. I'll use sulfuric acid as the electrolyte, Rit brand dye and the boiling water seal method. I picked up a five gallon container of battery acid, which is about 50/50 sulfuric acid and water mix from an auto parts store. The Rit brad dye is available from pretty much any grocery store. A 10 gallon Rubbermaid plastic tub was purchased for the anodizing tank as well. Total cost, about $30.
Continue reading...
Anodizing aluminum is another one of the projects I wanted to try. After reading up on it, it seemed fairly straight forward to do. Being in the grips of a Midwest winter, it seemed like a good time to get started. That, and the fact that I'm using aluminum more and more with each new rocket project.
Why anodize aluminum? Three reasons:
- It increases the surface hardness of aluminum.
- Anodizing protects the aluminum from corrosion.
- It's the best way color an aluminum part.
For my first attempt I'm going to use the absolute basic approach. I'll use sulfuric acid as the electrolyte, Rit brand dye and the boiling water seal method. I picked up a five gallon container of battery acid, which is about 50/50 sulfuric acid and water mix from an auto parts store. The Rit brad dye is available from pretty much any grocery store. A 10 gallon Rubbermaid plastic tub was purchased for the anodizing tank as well. Total cost, about $30.
Continue reading...
