Stripping ano from HDS

So this was going to be one of my little 'pet' projects, and I was going to bam! release pics of it on to CPF here and get kudos =) haha. But now I'm not sure if it'll work and need some advice.

I wanted to take apart an HDS light and strip the ano, using Greased Lightning (pumaman did it on a LR-10 and it looked nice). This combined w/ a SS clip and SS bezel I thought would look tight.

But, is this feasible? I think I can get the electronics out of the head, but not sure about the innards of the clicky if they can be pulled from the tail. Also, is there ChemKote on the insides, that will get stripped if I dip the shells in GL?

Another thing I was thinking was coating or taping the insides somehow before dunking, or even just painting the GL on (but pumaman says to dunk for 40 mins so I dunno if painting GL on and leaving it will do the job).

Any ideas?

You can't strip the inside of the tube or the spring around the battery will short out. If you do, you would need to find a new way to insulate the inside.

which tailcap version do you have?

Walt - thanks! That is good info to know.

Leukos - my U60 is the new knurled version, my B42 is the 2nd i think, the smooth but tailstanding (sort of) one...

Ok, how about this - since the hds is waterproof, could i just dunk the whole light in the GL?

That might work, but I would soak an o ring in it first just to make sure the GL won't soften them. That could cause problems.

Good call on the o-ring! and good idea on the solution. you're a smart one =)

As much as I like people doing mods, I'd strongly discourage you from doing this one:

- there's potential for shorting the electrical path once you strip the anodizing and the chemcote will be gone (assuming you're stripping just the parts)

- the window and the rubber boot will probably be damaged with the NaOH (assuming you dip the sealed light and the o-ring holds the seal under the NaOH)

- once you strip the anodizing, the light will collect dings and scratches like a magnet collects Fe shavings

YMMV, of course.

Just use some lube on the o-ring and screw the light closed, and the chemicals won't touch the inside - do the whole light all at once with the electronic parts inside.

Any "salt"-type chemical that dissolves in water, such as lye, will not touch a rubber o-ring.

I've used EZ-Off oven cleaner to strip HA from several ARC lights - the HA strips easily, and the lights still look great after two years of keychain carry.

BTW, HA does not protect against surface scratches worth a darn, and the bare aluminum flash will just get a patina of fine scratches that will be much less noticeable than scratches in the HA, and will look excellent.

FsTop said:

BTW, HA does not protect against surface scratches worth a darn, and the bare aluminum flash will just get a patina of fine scratches that will be much less noticeable than scratches in the HA, and will look excellent.

Click to expand...

Sure, if you carry it wrapped in 400 grit sandpaper. :laughing: Otherwise, the scratches will be the size of whatever is causing them! If you just don't like yours anodized, that's fine. But to say that it isn't scratch-resistant... your experiences must be very different than mine and most of the people on CPF. Arc and HDS seem to have some of the thickest (read: toughest) HA on the market. I can't imagine bare aluminum beating them.

This version of the HDS tailcap may be easier to strip and keep the contacts from touching the walls:




These are the guts you will need to remove:

Why remove the guts? You do not want to remove the conductive anti-corrosion coating on the inside of the body, so just remove the battery, screw the light together, and de-anodize the outside only.