After much internet research I found it would be much simpler to anodize aluminum than one might think. A bit of patience and the right supplies and it went well. These are just a few samples, more projects are soon to come.
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Keywords: anodizing
Project Detail
After some online research I found the primary resources needed to anodize aluminum:
- Aluminum workpiece (6061, 6063, 5052, and 3003 alloys seem to work best; avoid cast/2024/7075)
- Lead or Aluminum Cathode
- Approximately 15\\% Sulfuric acid solution
- DC power supply
- T-Shirt dye
I got the Aluminum from Alro Metals Plus and the acid from a local battery supplier which was further diluted 50/50.
Specifications
All are 6061-T6 aluminum bars. Using about 12A/sqft DC the acid bath (15\\% H_2SO_4 ) was held at approximately room temperature (75deg F). The dye was RIT brand T-Shirt dye. It should be tested first, some colors don't come out as they might on cotton. For example, "Royal Blue" came out deep purple.
Design Validation and Testing
Some of the results from testing the anodizing process:
Future Work
Going to work on making more consistent colors. Also going to practice the "Fade" idea a bit more. I believe that with a bit of practice I might be able to get some very nice two-tone projects together.