Anodisers

[Retro Spud]

Mine, bought new in very late 1989 (750cc K model) was sold for the deposit on our first house in 1992

A heck of a lot of water has passed under the bridge since then

 

[Swede]

Re:

Believe it or not these have been redone but this time by Acorn.

Frustratingly, the chap there said they came out "bright red" at first but he then dunked them in his blue dye so that they'd match the Ringlé seat post I've given him to match...

They just look so flat but he did say the alloy was crap which is difficult to see given that Paul Components managed to do a good job!

Rampage, we need you!

 

[Rampage]

Re:

They look like they’ve not been polished before anodising.
Red is a funny colour to do, getting it between light red that looks pink and burgundy.

 

[Rampage]

Now that Rampage has emptied his tanks and unplugged his transformers I need an alternate!

Caspar, please keep the thread updated particularly if you procure some 3DV work. I’ve nagged Chris a few times the past couple of months, even to the point of begging for his process info and dye source/recipe (which he did, bless him - but that proved he really isn’t getting started up again any time soon), with a thought of doing a mini-tank setup at home. Despite Chris’s warnings that it couldn’t be done I still researched the whole setup and sucked/stuck a finger in the air with regard to costs and also priced up a constant voltage power transformer thingy, but decided not to pursue it - due to never finishing a project I get started on.

John Grafton said I can send stuff to him and he’ll pass it onto “his guy”, which is one option, or asking Jason to help coordinate something (being the most helpful and kindest of gents that he is) is another, and I have a shipment of stuff waiting to go to him in a couple of weeks’ time anyway, so there’s scope there to mitigate cost going over. I’d rather avoid that, not just because of the costs of carriage, but the potential for getting stuff lost or damaged in the process.

If a reliable and consistent UK anodiser can be sought with the ability to successfully recreate Rampage-standard 3DV, I think several RBers here will more than keep them ticking over with biz for a while. I have an entire build on hold awaiting a frame re-coating/painting, the colour of which is still not decided upon because the ability to get some parts 3DV anodised will affect the colour choice.

Here’s hoping you manage to nail something down. **fingers crossed**

Thanks for the kind words.
3DV isn’t used anymore because of its light fastness. It fades really bad compared to modern dyes (even compared to older dyes). You can still buy it though. Clarinet still make it as do American Dyes afaik.

I’m beginning to wish I’d written that book on anodising!

 

[Rampage]

Re:

Danson67:

You can locally anodise, it’s done by aerospace to repair damaged planes etc. Basically you seal off the area you don’t want anodised, a constant stream of electrolyte is pumped over the area wanting to be anodised and caught in a tank below. Costs involved are obvious, and you’d never get a good colour match!

Anodising cleans well with Isopropyl Alcohol then car polish. You can wax it to get a better shine. I imagine Auto-Glynn super resin polish would be good with the fillers it contains.
Don’t use Isopropyl Alcohol on anything with paint, decals or printing.


Casper: I wouldn’t anodise them again, the diamemaions change when they are anodised (stripping reduces them more than anodising increases them). You can also get problems with pitting leaving black marks in the anodising.
You could try laquering them to get a brighter finish. Let me know how you get on if you try this please.

 

[Swede]

Re:

I'll have a go with lacquer as at least this way I can see the before and after. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Swede]

Re:

I may be being ultra critical but I think this will have to do

 

[Rampage]

Re:

Looks good, I never got the chance to try it.
The black dots are where it’s pitted, either from too much stripping or it could have been damaged in its past and its corroded a bit.

 

[scant]

can anyone recommend a UK company for a very small batch that needs re-anno please?

 

[Retro Spud]

Acorn I believe are the out and out go to people

Yakboy and Peachy! use them alot