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ted_yosem
Sound technical content, curated with aloha by
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Pine Beach, NJ
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Anodizing aluminum: dye is splotchy

Q. Hello, I'm a jeweler interested in using aluminum in my work. I tried anodizing an aluminum basket, about 0.5' square and 0.2mm thick and had a difficult time getting good results. After a lot of experimenting I was able to dye the basket fairly successfully, but wasn't really able to get an even consistent color. I'd appreciate any advice or insight that might help. Thanks!

James Peyton
- Seattle, Washington
October 21, 2024


probertEthumb Aluminum How-To
"Chromating - Anodizing - Hardcoating"

by Robert Probert

Also available in Spanish

You'll love this book. Finishing.com has sold almost a thousand copies without a single return request :-)


A. Hi James,

Unfortunately it is hard to narrow down what is wrong, all the way from cleaning to sealing.

• Are you sure there was no previous anodizing layer, or if there was, that you removed it?

• Are you sure the basket was spotlessly clean? If any doubt, scrub the basket with a tampico scrub brush, and a solution of powdered pumice and a dash of dish detergent before your normal cleaning.

• Did you do any etching or desmutting? If so, did the aluminum still look the color of raw aluminum before you proceeded.

• Was the anodizing done at reasonable current density (say 12 ASF), and did it look fine before dying?

• Are you using a high quality dye made for anodizing rather than a fabric dye? Did it already look inconsistent at this stage?

• What method and timing did you use for sealing? Nickel acetate would probably be ideal.

Send a pic of it to mooney@finishing.com for posting here.

Luck & Regards,

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


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