27motorhead
Old School Grand Master
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Anodising
- Thread starter damianw
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Please don’t follow the above advice.
It’s a very difficult & complex process, time consuming, frustrating, lots of dangerous fumes and you could permanently damage your bike parts.
It worrying that you are telling people to use Hydroflouric Acid, presumably you mean Hydrofluoric Acid, which according to the MSDS (it’s on the internet - look it up) - Fatal if swallowed, in contact with skin or if inhaled.
So when you say you haven’t got a source to purchase, this is why - skin contact can kill you, it’s not available to the public for a very good reason.
Not to mention that it’s the wrong acid to use anyway.
It’s a very difficult & complex process, time consuming, frustrating, lots of dangerous fumes and you could permanently damage your bike parts.
It worrying that you are telling people to use Hydroflouric Acid, presumably you mean Hydrofluoric Acid, which according to the MSDS (it’s on the internet - look it up) - Fatal if swallowed, in contact with skin or if inhaled.
So when you say you haven’t got a source to purchase, this is why - skin contact can kill you, it’s not available to the public for a very good reason.
Not to mention that it’s the wrong acid to use anyway.
It does scare me a little and reading above doesn’t help.
It may well be left to professionals.
To answer the thread , I’ve been calling anodising places over the last few months since Acorn went silent about anodising a frame for me. I’ve found a place who will do it on the basis it could go wrong (I’m fine with that as have a Zaskar frame which can be experimented on)
It seemed pretty easy to find places to do smaller parts. Badger anodising seemed like they would help on small parts
It may well be left to professionals.
To answer the thread , I’ve been calling anodising places over the last few months since Acorn went silent about anodising a frame for me. I’ve found a place who will do it on the basis it could go wrong (I’m fine with that as have a Zaskar frame which can be experimented on)
It seemed pretty easy to find places to do smaller parts. Badger anodising seemed like they would help on small parts
MuchAlohaNui
Senior Retro Guru
I appreciate your concern. Did you watch the videos I posted? What I do not appreciate are the nanny's prevalent in European politics that simply decide I cannot have 3 - 5% HF solution where if I were home in the US, I can walk into a hardware store and buy what I need, cheap to boot.
The vidoes I posted as well as Caswell for the dyes all urge caution AND go over safety precautions. All important and all part of the process. Burns and possible electrocution? Where do I sign up? Did you also know that mountain biking can be fatal? You swim in public pools? That is a ton of exposure to chlorine which is an absolutely terrible chemical, yet swimming is pretty fun and we're all still here. You drink city drinking water from the tap? Now you're ingesting chlorine and fluoride.
In the titanium video and that of others, everyone is using Wink rust remover. The main ingredient chemical is HF:
https://www.merrittsupply.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/Whink-Rust-Remover-SDS.pdf
A cursory search for "etching titanium" will reference HF solution.
Regarding aluminum, in my last post I referenced a far less hazardous chemical where as the video of the guy anodizing in his basement, uses HF.
What you find difficult and complex about anodizing, I find interesting and entertaining and there really is no mystery to the process. In the end, your opinion lends toward conjecture unless you have personal experience with anodizing. People asked for information and I provided personal experience. They can do whatever the heck they like with that info AND I am not bringing anything new to the conversation that isn't already on the internet. Simple as.
Thanks again for your concern.
I have Paul Thumbies that are black anodized, so I'll strip them and either dye them green, turquoise or 3dv purple. Haven't decided yet. These are small parts so if I am successful with those, I'll move to these black ano Tech Lite brake levers I have. Success or even being content will progress to redoing a few larger parts for a specific build.
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27motorhead
Old School Grand Master
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Sounds like a fun week! Appreciate the time taken to share what you've been up to and the YouTube links. Completely up to the individual should they wish to have a dabble/play. Appreciate where Rampage is coming from, but nothing in life isn't without its risks. I better not start to mention on here some of the things I've done over the years that I should have only let a "qualified professional" do, otherwise they'll come back and bite me on the arse one day. Plus it would be a complete thread hijack as it's a L O N G list!
MuchAlohaNui
Senior Retro Guru
I have no idea if that is his profession. Though if he is or was professionally anodizing, I would be very interested in what he has in his head, i.e. processes and technique. The company Caswell sells various DIY complete kits along with the chemicals and dyes needed. They are one of various businesses out there selling these kits. This leads me to believe that most of the public is competent enough in doing this at their home. I think I'll order the Multi-etch just to spite this thread.
I hope next week will be good. Temps are supposed to dip so why not get some anodizing screwed up? Progress will be posted in my Serotta ATi build thread and a few pictures here as well. Thanks for your neutral stance also. Entirely up to the person to dabble or not, but don't tell me no cause reasons. Anywho! To anodize or not; that is the question.Sounds like a fun week! Appreciate the time taken to share what you've been up to and the YouTube links. Completely up to the individual should they wish to have a dabble/play. Appreciate where Rampage is coming from, but nothing in life isn't without its risks. I better not start to mention on here some of the things I've done over the years that I should have only let a "qualified professional" do, otherwise they'll come back and bite me on the arse one day. Plus it would be a complete thread hijack as it's a L O N G list!
27motorhead
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Loving the Serotta ATi thread by the way! Uber cool build and lots of detail to keep a detail monkey like me very happy.
Uber cool build and lots of detail to keep a detail monkey like me very happy.
Please don't look at trying to obtain or do anything with Hydrofluoric acid. It readily attacks flesh, but more drastically it leaches through to the bone and will decalcify it. Amputation is then the only available option for you. To put further into context, it comes in plastic bottles as it eats glass ones.
There are many alternatives for etching Al, just leave the HF alone.
If you do touch it, can you adhere to all of this?
https://chemistry.harvard.edu/files/chemistry/files/safe_use_of_hf_0.pdf
There are many alternatives for etching Al, just leave the HF alone.
If you do touch it, can you adhere to all of this?
https://chemistry.harvard.edu/files/chemistry/files/safe_use_of_hf_0.pdf
