Removing Anodizing.

mikefoster

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Got some red levers which are looking a bit shabby. Can anyone recommend a good way to remove anodizing. Would like to polish them afterwards.
Did some a few years ago with a USE seatpost which just consisted of sanding with wet and dry.
Any suggestions welcome. Thanks in advance.

Mike :?
 
Just used Oven Pride BBQ & Oven Cleaner from Tesco. Poured it into a plastic takeaway container, finished the chinese first. :) It comes with protective gloves. Do it outside, fumes are BAD for you. When the item to be "cleaned" is placed in it, it effervesces slightly, giving off hydrogen I think so no smoking! I used an old toothbrush to assist the process. You can see the coloured anodizing coming off. It was pretty straightforward, only taking about 10 minutes. Once washed off I used some T-Cut cutting compound & small polishing disc, the sort that goes in an electric drill, from Halfords. Worked a treat.
 
Wet & dry then metal cleaner

Ballache of a job.....did a redneck BMX stem once and after a very short time wished I'd never started!
 
I find that the easiest way is to make up a caustic soda solution (about 25% of the strength recommended on the container will do) in a plastic bucket or something like that and have another bucket with just water in next to it.

Do all of the following outside if possible and don't breathe in the fumes....

Find a suitable brush (old toothbrush or small washing-up brush) to scrub the component with and wear decent rubber gloves. Safety glasses would also be a good idea... A pair of plastic tongs are also useful for transfering the component from bucket to bucket.
Lower the part into the caustic solution for a only few seconds, lift it out and rinse it in the clean water - give it a scrub with the brush and you should see some of the colour come off into the water.
Do this as many times as necessary to remove the coloured anodising - it's better to do this with multiple dippings than to just chuck it in and leave it, as you have more control over how much you remove.

Wash well afterwards in some water with lemon juice or vinegar added, especially if it is a complex CNC component with lots of nooks and crannies, like a Hope stem for example.

Polish with Solvol Autosol.......
 
The Oven Pride that I used is less than 12% Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda) which is why I used it. It is also slightly gelatinous, it's got the consistency of nitrooors, so doesn't tend to splatter when gently using a brush. Definately wear safety specs. The reaction to the anodizing was quite mild & no noticeable heat was generated. The gas given off is hydrogen, just found this,

2 Al (s) + 6NaOH (aq) → 3 H 2(g) + 2Na3AlO3(aq). Hydrogen gas is explosive; mixing lye (sodium hydroxide) and aluminum in a closed container is therefore dangerous

I wouldn't have bothered if there was only the wet & dry option. Tatty cranks are next on the list.
 
Just send them to Peter Hall Designs in the post and they will come back all polished for about £20.00
 
Cheers for the advice fellas. I'll give some of them a try and let you know how they turn out and what works best for me.

Thanks Mike.
 
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