Anodizing silver aluminum to black?

[tv_vt]

I know you can get kits to do this at home, but can anyone suggest a place that could do it for me? I've got a silver alloy seatpost that really should be black for the frame it's going on. Is there a good company that I could send it to and get it anodized black?

Thanks!

Thom

[C5 Snowboarder]

Tough call-- a plating company that does Anodizing usually have a min charge which will kill ya on your budget. Sometimes this is a around ~$75 -- The other thing you would need to watch is the finish of the part you give them and the exact expectations of your definition of "black" -- the alloy of aluminum alone will vary the color and if it is as cast ( assuming it is not machined on every surface ) or machined. The cast will usually give a dull color and the machined will give a contrasting shiny black. Also since anodize builds up a small amount (approx 50% of the anodize thickness builds up on the outside) on the surface you should ask them to mask the threads or re-tap them yourself when you get the part back.

A couple of alternatives -- go to your local Gun shop and find a bottle of "Casey’s Alum Black" -- it will color aluminum black like a black oxide on Steel. Cheap way to try coloring black.. down side is it is not very durable

Second alternative is to find a Powdercoat shop and see if they will do yours next time they do a customer in Black—bring them some goodies and you might get it for a very low cost.

If it is already Anodized Silver -- you may need to remove that finish first which is difficult since it is embedded into the material about .002".

Go here for more info-- or for that matter do a search on the net.

http://www.alphametal.com/AboutAnodizing.aspx


Good luck :beer:

[bfd]

This may be crazy, but black seatposts are very common and can be found as low as $15, why not just buy a black one and save the silver for something else.

Alternatively, if funds are low, I know that feeling, sell the silver and use the money to buy a black one.

It doesn't make sense to go thru the hassle and expense of "anodizing" a perfectly fine silver post when black ones are available cheap. Good Luck!