Anyone here try anodizing cold casted aluminum?

Billy the Hero · Nov 19, 2016

I'm currently pleased with how the aluminum finish on my cold casted urethane mold has come out, but I'd like to add a slight hue of green-blue. My goal is to give the finish complete scratch resistance, it'll be displayed in a public area where people can interact with it.

I'd like to know if anyone has tried anodizing a cold cast before, and if they did how it turned out!

PoopaPapaPalps · Nov 19, 2016

I've never even considered the idea of anodizing plastic. It's an interesting concept but I've not much to offer on the subject, I'm afraid. I don't know if it's possible depending on the plastic used but doesn't anodizing have to do with electricity running through the object? I think that would just melt the plastic, but again, I don't know much on the matter.

Rogviler · Nov 19, 2016

IMO, if it's even possible it would be a lot of hassle just to get it to a point where you could dye it (what produces colored anodizing), so I would personally just spray a translucent paint on and clear coat it. Tamiya makes a bunch if you're on a budget, not sure if they're in the color you want. You can also make your own if you have a high enough quality of paint. Finally, any auto paint store that can mix custom colors could get what you wanted. Those are in ascending order of price.

My experience with anodizing is that the dye isn't very light fast, so I would go with paint anyway.

It might also be the case that what you have already would take a dye. If you have a scrap of it I would experiment.

-Rog

Billy the Hero · Nov 19, 2016

PoopaPapaPalps said:
I've never even considered the idea of anodizing plastic. It's an interesting concept but I've not much to offer on the subject, I'm afraid. I don't know if it's possible depending on the plastic used but doesn't anodizing have to do with electricity running through the object? I think that would just melt the plastic, but again, I don't know much on the matter.

Thanks for responding! Yeah I figured it was a stupid question, but in my head for some reason I thought there was a chance I could do it, as the mold has aluminum powder.

MrSouthpaw · Nov 19, 2016

Duracoat will soon be releasing a new product called 'Duradize', that imitates the look of anodized aluminum. And their stuff usually wears pretty well.

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/11/18/duradize-new-duracoat-finishing-product/

Billy the Hero · Nov 19, 2016

Thanks for all the help! Truly appreciated.

Billy the Hero · Nov 19, 2016

Rogviler said:
IMO, if it's even possible it would be a lot of hassle just to get it to a point where you could dye it (what produces colored anodizing), so I would personally just spray a translucent paint on and clear coat it. Tamiya makes a bunch if you're on a budget, not sure if they're in the color you want. You can also make your own if you have a high enough quality of paint. Finally, any auto paint store that can mix custom colors could get what you wanted. Those are in ascending order of price.

My experience with anodizing is that the dye isn't very light fast, so I would go with paint anyway.

It might also be the case that what you have already would take a dye. If you have a scrap of it I would experiment.

-Rog

Thanks! I was looking at some automotive paints and that might be what I'm looking for.

Wimismith · Nov 19, 2016

Depending on how many casts you plan to make, you might be able to tint the cold cast before you pour it into the mold. I've not worked with the powdered metals, so I don't now if the tint would get polished away during your cleanup process, but it might be worth looking into.

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robstyle · Nov 20, 2016

As far as actual anodizing your castings, I dont think the base material would hold up. I assume youre casting with resin. I would imagine there isnt enough actual metal to run an electrical charge and have it "stick". Its also somewhat sketchy as if the surface and original color/finish would hold up to the degreasing/cleaning/prep process.

Are you after that old skool gun finish? I did some castings of old Colt's cast in color. This was the first attempt to add some of the blue/green metallic. Other castings had more color as they had to match pre-existing guns but you get the idea.

No paint, directly from the mould.

Closer to see the color and metallic flake.

Wished I would have taken more pictures of the finished castings. When they were given a once over with a green pad they were near spot on the the real deal.

Billy the Hero · Nov 20, 2016

robstyle said:
As far as actual anodizing your castings, I dont think the base material would hold up. I assume youre casting with resin. I would imagine there isnt enough actual metal to run an electrical charge and have it "stick". Its also somewhat sketchy as if the surface and original color/finish would hold up to the degreasing/cleaning/prep process.

Are you after that old skool gun finish? I did some castings of old Colt's cast in color. This was the first attempt to add some of the blue/green metallic. Other castings had more color as they had to match pre-existing guns but you get the idea.

No paint, directly from the mould.
http://i47.tinypic.com/d8nch.jpg

Closer to see the color and metallic flake.
http://i48.tinypic.com/2howjs1.jpg

Wished I would have taken more pictures of the finished castings. When they were given a once over with a green pad they were near spot on the the real deal.
http://i46.tinypic.com/foehhx.jpg

I see. Someone also suggested blowing bronze powder and exposing it to nitric acid, but it was kind of overkill in my test scraps.

Friendly flyer · Nov 20, 2016

robstyle said:
I did some castings of old Colt's cast in color. This was the first attempt to add some of the blue/green metallic. Other castings had more color as they had to match pre-existing guns but you get the idea.

That'samazing colour-work, Robstyle!

Anyone here try anodizing cold casted aluminum?

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