Nice looking parts there Daze!  At some point I was going to get into this to anodize some non automotive parts I built.  I looked into it a bit, and this confirms what I'd researched. 

MS wrote:

How about a full blown article on how to do it??? Or should we just start sending small aluminum parts to Montana?

There is a link in the original post to the article I found.  That article has a video as well as a comment section with lots of good info.  He is using Rit dye rather than actual anodizing dye so his results are not as good as they could be.  The only thing he doesn't cover but is really important, you don't want to etch pieces made of an aluminum alloy.  The etch will remove surface aluminum and expose more non aluminum metals.

MS wrote:

Can you do colors?

If they make a dye that color you can anodize that color. some people even do multi colors by masking of sections or using the etch on part of it after it has already been dyed one color, than reanodizing.   I can not stress enough that actual anodizing dye is not that expensive on amazon and works 10 times better than other dyes.  Also if you want a candy look like you see on so many anodized parts, all you need to do is polish the aluminum, skip the etching stage as etching will slightly dull the finish Than anodize, dye, and seal and you are good to go.

MS wrote:

That is pretty cool!

It was a really fun project.  I learned a lot and I know I will use it on mre parts in the future.
 

Cliff's Notes:

1.  Go to Lowe's and buy some pure lye drain cleaner, some aluminum project wire, and a container of PH down

2.  Go to Walmart and get 4 or 5 gallons of distilled water, a squirt bottle,  a bottle of mean green industrial cleaner and several plastic containers.

3.  Go home

4.  Go online to Amazon and order all the colors you want to be able to dye and possibly a power supply however some people have had success using a 12V battery charger.  The power supply is better as you need to adjust amps based on the size of  the piece of metal being anodized.

5.  Put on safety glasses

6.  Mix 5 cups of PH down with 1 gallon of distilled water. poring the PH down into the water not the other way around

7.  Mix 3/4 of a cup of lye with 1 gallon of distilled water again poring the lye into the water not the other way around, and also slowly as lye and water are exothermic, in other words mixing them will produce heat.

8.  Put a piece of clean scrap aluminum in your PH down solution  and hook the negative lead from your power supply to it.

9.  Finish aluminum part.  in other words the surface quality of the aluminum is how the part will look only a different color.  Anodizing is naturally clear and dying the aluminum won't hide any imperfections.  I sand blasted mine because of all the contours and the matt finish did hide imperfections.  A lot of people use a scotch bright pad to get a uniform satin finish or they polish to get a glossy finish.

10.  Completely clean parts.  I soaked mine in the Mean Green for about 30 minutes then I took dish soap and a toothbrush to them and scrubbed them thoroughly   When I was cleaning them I had on rubber gloves.  I wasn't worried about chemical burns but I was worried about oils from my hands getting on the parts.

11.  After the parts are clean rinse them well with distilled water.

12.  Take several pieces of aluminum wire and bend it over to create a mass of aluminum that can be jammed into one of the holes in the piece being anodized.  When parts anodize the anodized surface is no longer conductive so you want to use several pieces of wire and make sure you have tight connections.

13.  If the part is cast or you want a glossy finish skip to 14 if the part in not cast or the finish doesn't need to be as shiny place it in the lye solution for 3 minutes.  Remove from etch and rinse with distilled water.  I use a squirt bottle full of distilled water right over the etch so most of the solution drains back into my tank.  I then submerge the part in a clean bowl of distilled water.

14.  Place part in anodizing bath, connect positive lead to the wires coming off the part and turn the power supply on adjusting the amperage. Let the part anodize for 1-2 hours.    

15.  Remove from anodizing bath and rinse with distilled water.  I again use the squirt bottle full of distilled water right over the anodizing bath so most of the solution drains back into my tank.  I then submerge the part in the same  bowl of distilled water I rinsed it in after the etch.

16.  Place part in dye.  heated dye (120 to 140) will color the part quickly (20-30 minutes) but if the dye is cold good results can still be had by leaving it in the dye for several hours.

17.  Remove from dye and rinse with distilled water.  I use the squirt bottle full of water right over the dye bath so most of the dye drains back into my tank.  I then submerge the part in the same  bowl of distilled water I rinsed it in after the etch and the anodizing.

18 inspect the part.  If it looks good place it in a pot of distilled water and boil it for about 30 minutes to seal the part.  If it doesn't look good place it in the etch for about 3 minutes and it will remove all the anodizing so you can try it again.

19.  If you have questions ask me and I will help any way I can.

Like I said in the original post on this thread, it takes some practice to get it working correctly and to condition the anodizing solution.  Some people have complained that using PH down instead of battery acid creates a solution that looses its acidity but so far using PH test strips (good solution should be in the range of 1-2)  I have not found that to be the case, BUT I also remove the cathode piece of aluminum from the tank when its not in use so that might be part of why I am not having that problem.  To know what amperage you need to set you power supply at there is a free calculator on line.  do a search for 720 rule and caswell.



 

Remember idiot proofing often underestimates the idiot.  Lest someone start anodizing in the Walmart parking lot...

Thanks for the write up.  I'll be giving this a try in the future.