Removing anodizing

[911pcars]

A video tip on removing anodizing:

Street Customs Tech Tips: Removing Anodization : Video : TLC

1. Disregard the hot rodder's reason for removing the anodized finish in the first place.

2. Disregard the hot rodder's use of the term, "anodization". "Anodizing" should suffice.

3. Disregard the hot rodder's final application of paint (see 1 above).

Sherwood

[rbogh901]

Originally Posted by 911pcars

1. Disregard the hot rodder's reason for removing the anodized finish in the first place.

2. Disregard the hot rodder's use of the term, "anodization". "Anodizing" should suffice.

3. Disregard the hot rodder's final application of paint (see 1 above).

Sherwood

Well said.

[SilberUrS6]

There are reasons for removing *the surface coating*, especially if the color is a problem. I remember picking up a lot of nice aluminum bike parts that had the most idiotic of colors anodized onto the surface. Purple, green, electric blue, orange...

A little bit of sodium hydroxide solution would peel that crap color off, and leave me with a nice silver part.

[fred cook]

What about long skinny parts like the window trim on a 911? When I had my SC apart for painting a while back, I decided that I wanted bright trim instead of black. So, I pulled the pieces off the car, carefully sanded off the black anodizing and polished each piece on a bench motor with medium and fine polishing wheels using a variety of polishing compounds. Turns out that I spent about a month doing the job but wound up with nice shinny pieces. Sometimes you just can't take the elbow grease out of the equation!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by fred cook

What about long skinny parts like the window trim on a 911? When I had my SC apart for painting a while back, I decided that I wanted bright trim instead of black. So, I pulled the pieces off the car, carefully sanded off the black anodizing and polished each piece on a bench motor with medium and fine polishing wheels using a variety of polishing compounds. Turns out that I spent about a month doing the job but wound up with nice shinny pieces. Sometimes you just can't take the elbow grease out of the equation!

First and foremost, pics of said finished product, please? Pretty-please?

I agree that some hand work is needed. Some anodizing comes right off, leaving a nice silver look to the part. Sometimes, you're left with a grey-ish aluminum hydroxide coat that takes a little sanding to get off. It's not nearly so hard as alumina (the aluminum oxide coating that anodizing is striving for), so it comes off quickly. I would paint sodium hydroxide solution directly on the anodize that showing, let is work, rinse it off, then shine up the resulting product with some 600-800 grit wet/dry, just to give it a brushed-finish look. Straight bright is not my favorite, so brushed-finishing is more my speed. But bright is good, too, for a retro-look.

[super80]

I have had great results removing the anodizationonamation with this:

Instant Power 33.8 oz. Hair and Grease Drain Opener-1969 at The Home Depot

[fred cook]

Here are some pictures taken of the polished trim.

[Josh D]

That looks great! Something I'd like to do to mine someday.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by fred cook

Here are some pictures taken of the polished trim.

Wow, that's really nice. I have been considering doing that to my '85 in Meteor Grey - except in sort of a "brushed" final finish, and maybe the door handles, too.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by super80

I have had great results removing the anodizationonamation with this:

Instant Power 33.8 oz. Hair and Grease Drain Opener-1969 at The Home Depot

Lye dissolved in water will work, too. Lye is sodium hydroxide.

The reaction between water and sodium hydroxide produces heat, so make sure you wear gloves to protect yourself from thermal burns as well as chemical burns. Also, the reaction produces some fumes which are unpleasant. Well-ventilated area, blah, blah.

OK, this one is the most important:

Sodium hydroxide solutions (or any strong base - calcium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, etc.) will dissolve your corneas instantly. Therefore, WEAR EYE PROTECTION. If you do NOTHING else to protect yourself when you're using this stuff, do that.

For my own part, I don't car if I get concentrated base solutions on my skin. I just rinse it off with a lot of water. As a chemist of 30 years, some stuff I care about, and not others. I have gotten concentrated sulfuric acid on my skin before, and just rinsed it off, no problems.

But guys, this stuff will make you blind. Wear eye protection. Go completely naked to use this stuff, and you won't have any hassle if it gets on you - just rinse it off. But if you get it in your eyes, you will do damage.

[rbogh901]

Originally Posted by SilberUrS6

Lye dissolved in water will work, too. Lye is sodium hydroxide.

The reaction between water and sodium hydroxide produces heat, so make sure you wear gloves to protect yourself from thermal burns as well as chemical burns. Also, the reaction produces some fumes which are unpleasant. Well-ventilated area, blah, blah.

But guys, this stuff will make you blind. Wear eye protection. Go completely naked to use this stuff, and you won't have any hassle if it gets on you - just rinse it off. But if you get it in your eyes, you will do damage.

I just revived this old thread because Sherwood made me laugh. And because the link to the video still worked.

Anyway:
Points taken regarding precautions. Thank you.
What kind of gloves? Home Depot rubber, nitryl, what?

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by rbogh901

I just revived this old thread because Sherwood made me laugh. And because the link to the video still worked.

Anyway:
Points taken regarding precautions. Thank you.
What kind of gloves? Home Depot rubber, nitryl, what?

Latex, nitrile, rubber - they'll all work just fine.

[daleflesburg]

I started out with a faded black engine lid grill and this is what about two weekends of work accomplished. The aluminum finally polished. I used oven cleaner, and the problem was it is slow and stinks a lot.

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by daleflesburg

I started out with a faded black engine lid grill and this is what about two weekends of work accomplished. The aluminum finally polished. I used oven cleaner, and the problem was it is slow and stinks a lot.

Looks grate!

[Ronnie's.930]

Originally Posted by SilberUrS6

Looks grate!

Ha ha - too funny!

[SilberUrS6]

Originally Posted by Ronnie's.930

Ha ha - too funny!

Hey, somebody got the joke. Nice work.

[runner4fun]

I'm doing a long hood conversion back-date to my 1983 steel wide-body SC coupe. Yesterday I started stripping the black anodizing off my window trim. I used spray Jasso stripper and the black came off and exposed the beautiful bare aluminum. It took several coats of stripper and much elbow grease with a 3M stripping pad, but the results are outstanding. One more door window frame to go and the dreaded black is all gone. Then I move on to the polishing and finishing.