Cloudy anodized titanium bolsters

F

Frank Niro

Joined
Sep 10, 2000
Messages
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well no I don't have a picture but they are not great. I am anodizing with a solution of TSP. The bolsters were polished before anodizing and I was wondering if this may actually be the cause of the cloudy colouring? Would an open flame perhaps do a better job? All and any help would be appreciated. Frank
 
Frank, not sure if I can help but first of all I assume they were cleaned thoroughly before the anodizing. After that, all I can say is that I have had something similar. Not cloudy as much as inconsistent, though. From all I have gathered the best bet is to pick up some Multi-Etch and follow those directions as a pre-anodizing heated bath to get better results. http://multietch.com/

Mark
 
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I would look at cleanliness first, then contaminated or improper electrolyte second, and voltage third.
 
Try scrubbing them with a toothbrush, sometimes the TSP solution stays on and makes them cloudy. If that doesn't work I'd look into cleanliness before etch, scrub with soap and water, rinse, windex, rinse.
 
Well I wanted to have the answer for the bolsters on this one and if I ever wanted to colour titanium bolsters again.
So, I went with all the suggestions. I used fresh water with a new dose of TSP, checked the voltage, cleaned the bolsters with a super fine rotating steal wool drum, and then did a further cleaning job on the bolsters with some excellent tool and parts cleaner I can buy here in Canada at a Canadian Tire store before I did the anodizing again. They came out sweet !!! Thanks again all! Frank
 
Yes, Stacy, I think so too but I still don't send them to the forums because I don't know how.
Imagine a lovely blue: Hah, there you go! They will be on a large tactical tomorrow I hope. Frank
 
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