Text: My anodizing outfit, a roll of aluminum mig wire, a small transformer, a bridge, a variable slide resistor and a amp meter. and a bunch of buckets.(note: you can use a battery charger for a power source, just keep in mind that small chargers will severly limit the size of the part your able to do) Tie the parts up with the mig wire firmly, if you lose connection it will not work. A hook bent and forced into a threaded hole works best. First bucket, drain cleaner, diluted lye solution. I put a $1 bottle from the dollar store in that 5 gallon bucket.. Any steel will disappear in there. Don't fingerprint it.. the wash stripped it clean.. Next bucket, rainwater caught off the roof.. I slosh it around in there.. Cost = Free.. Next bucket a diluted battery acid solution I put a box of battery acid into the bucket filled with rainwater.. I put a piece of lead down one side, across bottom and up other side. This is the common anode. (heck I don't remember for sure which polarity) cost $5.95 at autoparts. Take stringer of parts, tie them to a conductor copper, rod, or piece of tig wire.. Hook other conductor to the bar with clip. With the 12-24vdc applied it bubbles slightly as it is lowered into the acid solution.. This is a anodize building up.. I used my welder on dc on some large parts.. it worked.. but using it on smaller parts the heat increased the reactivity with the acid and it ate off the anodize as it was being applied.. ANY steel will disappear in there.. if you break a tap off in aluminum just drop it in here.. when the current falls back on the inline amp meter, anodize is a insulator.. you can pull it.. I use 12 - 20 minutes as a reference.. Wash it in the next rainwater bucket to remove acid solution.. DO not fingerprint(ie, get your fingerprints on it, wear latex gloves)it. I have a 120volt water heater element (available at Home Depot) tacked welded to a angle, it immerses in a vat of common liquid acid clothes dye mixed about 2x strength recommended for dying clothes. (not RIT powder). I heat it till it steams.. I clamp the element onto the side of the bucket so it is all immersed. I have a ground fault plug in there. THIS IS THE DANGEROUS PART. THE ANODIZE is like a bundle of straws, the hot dye fills these straws, provided you have not fingerprinted the item with oil.. I let is soak in there for about twenty minutes.. WHEN the shade is correct, pull it.. wash it.. then put it in another pot of water and boil it/seal it.. Provided your wire connection has not came loose, and you have not fingerprinted it you have anodized the part.. Dye comes in lots of shades.. I have not used the "real" dyes since my colors are so pretty.. Wear eye protection, the acid, the lye, etc Note: typically you seal annodizing with Nickel Acetate, I haven't tried Dave's method so you might want to experiment before trying this on a Mission Critical Part. Also you might want to forget about trying this on Cast Aluminum as the extremely high levels of Silicon in it makes it difficult even for professional Annodizers.

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