Re-anodizing.

The search function, both on CPF and Google Metacrawl, did not yield an answer to my satisfaction, so...

...are there any CPF members who are performing just regular, black HAII re-anodization services? I have a couple of classic Surefires that really deserve to be renewed.

This topic has been discussed for over a decade ad infinitum, ad nauseum, but it seems that not many people do it...the least expensive kit I could find was still close to $400 and, therefore, outside of feasibility for my admittedly limited hobbyist budget.

There is a guy in the laser section that does anodization - different colors etc. Whether the black he would offer is HAII or not I do not know. I would suggest you look at Cerakote - used for guns and available in different colors (light colors aren't as hard apparently). There was someone who was having them done at a local shop - not sure whether that was here or on the CPF marketplace. I had a few pieces cerakoted by him, knife handles came out fantastic. I probably have ~5 lights cerakoted.


As with (almost) any coating I've heard that the prep work is critical....

Would that be Tmack? I see he does some fairly intricate designs.

JoeAsheville said:

Would that be Tmack? I see he does some fairly intricate designs.

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If it isn't Tmack he will know who it is...

You'd have to talk to him.

My understanding is that he doesn't black HAIII. I don't want to answer for him, though.

One thing's sure, he's got some contacts and he's a really cool guy.

Don't bother him, though! He's finishing two builds for me!

LOL

Hey tv fans... long time lurker... recent poster (growing tired of that yellow notice!).
Though I like sometimes how anodized coating gets stripped off on sharp corners, adding character, I'm hoping to see a post on how its done, for curiosity and edification.
subscribed!

I'm the same way...my most favorite lights are the well worn ones. However a few in the collection deserve to be shelf queens I suppose.

A heated solution of Phosphoric and chromic acid is used to dissolve anodic coatings.

The problem you're going to have is that aged coatings that have been sealed take longer to remove and frequently start to show the aluminum grain structure.

Most shops that do anodizing have minimum charges which unless you have dozens of pieces is cost prohibitive on small lots.

NoNotAgain said:

A heated solution of Phosphoric and chromic acid is used to dissolve anodic coatings.

The problem you're going to have is that aged coatings that have been sealed take longer to remove and frequently start to show the aluminum grain structure.

Most shops that do anodizing have minimum charges which unless you have dozens of pieces is cost prohibitive on small lots.

Click to expand...

...or you can just use room temperature Greased Lightning and it will strip it right off in a few minutes without pitting.

This stuff:
http://www.greased-lightning.com/

...sounds WAY better than a brown buffing wheel! Thanks for the tip!

Jumpmaster said:

...or you can just use room temperature Greased Lightning and it will strip it right off in a few minutes without pitting.

This stuff:
http://www.greased-lightning.com/

Click to expand...

After looking at the MSDS sheet, Greased Lightning contains sodium hydroxide (page 6) which will pit aluminum and expose grain, especially on extrusions. Not saying that it can't be used, but caution is required as well as rubber gloves and proper ventilation.

Where I previously worked, no cleaners that contained alkaline materials were allowed on aluminum parts. We had someone use both Simple Green and 409 on some parts to remove some oil that was spilt. The problem was that the surface needs to be neutralized after use which it wasn't.

My post calling for chromic phosphoric is what is specified in Mil-A-8625 for determining the coating weight without damaging the substrate.

I do type II anodizing at home. To distress a finish I use, easy off oven cleaner. I will apply the cleaner to the area with a Q-tip watch the process and clean off in cold water I repeat as many times as needed till I get the result I desire. You will want to closely watch depending on where the item was anodized and what Type will depend on how long it takes to achieve the desired results. There are chemicals to remove the color from the anodized layer but Over cleaner is much cheaper and works just as well. I want to explain something about anodizing that folks get wrong. Many think that the color is the anodizing, Its not the anodizing happened before color is put on the surface. The anodizing process raises an Oxide layer on the surface of the metal creating a barrier against further oxidation removing the color with the proper chemicals doesn't harm the oxide layer that will need to be removed by sanding the surface back down to the raw metal. Its the anodized layer that excepts the color the raw metal will not. Believe it or not most anyone can home type II anodize with Professional results you can buy the needed supplies from suppliers or you can go the cheap way which gives just as good results. I started out the cheap way to see if I could actually do it at home made mistakes learned from them and moved on. I now use Professional dyes but for coloring but my anodizing process still uses the same items. If your looking to do small scale I bet most folks will have the needed equipment already on hand. I started off doing small parts for RC trucks moved into Motorcycle parts and now Firearms parts like RIS rails.