Masking problems

We have tried masking of aluminium rivets by using pvc sleeves only to hard anodise only the head portion. We have found that the productivity is very low due to the following problems.

1. sleeves falling off in the anodising bath

2. sleeves can be reused till 4 or 5 cycles after which they become loose. Tighter sleeves are difficult to insert initially.

3. anodising takes place on the butting surface of the mask with the rivet head underside which is undesirable.

Chakrabarti
- Mumbai, Maharastra, India

You should be able to obtain masking devices in the shape of a flange bearing to keep the back of the rivet head from anodizing. A different material like silicone may solve your other problems. Type the search term "mask" into our Chemicals search engine and you'll find a good number of competent suppliers.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey

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