So I have been thinking about getting some aluminum parts anodized, such as rims, and I'm trying to figure out if it would be affordable enough to be worth the process. First off: Do company's price their anodizing in terms of the weight of the product to be anodized? or are there other factors such as surface area? Also, would it be costly to have a set of 26" rims anodized? In that case, if a rim or any other aluminum part had a coating on it already such as chrome or a powdercoat it would probably have to be sandblasted prior to anodizing, correct? I'm sure there are some on here who know alot more than I do about such things. Thanks.
A couple Anodizing Questions..
- Thread starter FR4life.
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If it's a common color, like black they may throw it in with a batch of something else. Generally, most of the cost is the vat of chemicals. Labor to throw everything in there is minimal.
The place I use for getting stuff anodized at work charges $45 per order. You can fill a whole box with parts and the cost is the same. I usually just throw some personal parts in since it won't change the price at all.
As long as the rims fit in the tank then they shouldn't cost any more than other parts.
You will have to strip them to bare metal. I would recommend not sandblasting them. Here is why. Anodize is not a thick layer like paint, so the surface finish of the bare metal will determine what the anodized finish looks like. If you sandblast a part, it will come back from anodize very dull just like how it is after sandblasting. If you were to polish a part with a buffer, then it will come back shiny. I usually use a scotch-brite pad on my parts to give them a smooth, satin finish.
As long as the rims fit in the tank then they shouldn't cost any more than other parts.
You will have to strip them to bare metal. I would recommend not sandblasting them. Here is why. Anodize is not a thick layer like paint, so the surface finish of the bare metal will determine what the anodized finish looks like. If you sandblast a part, it will come back from anodize very dull just like how it is after sandblasting. If you were to polish a part with a buffer, then it will come back shiny. I usually use a scotch-brite pad on my parts to give them a smooth, satin finish.
I used to deal witha company called CH Thompson out of bingham NY they would charge by the batch. I can't remember the coast per batch. One thing is you have to pull all the steel and any other metals out of the aluminum parts. If the find other metals they get super pissed because it screws up their baths. The other thing is that the lead time will vary. Most anodizers don't do partial batches because it just isn't cost effective for them. also anodizers don't like working with previosly coated parts because it will interfere with the new coasting.
If I were to buy a set of rims that were chrome for instance, what would be the most cost effective way of stripping the chrome while still keeping the finish from dulling? Also, if a the rim was pinned it would be pinned with steel pins right? does that mean it couldn't be anodized?
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