4 Things You Should Know About Anodizing Aluminum

Anodized aluminum is a common metal used in many products by consumers and businesses. If you run a company that’s interested in using such a process, then there are some things you should know about anodizing aluminum before you get started. We’ll go into greater detail for you in this article.

The Purpose of This Procedure

Many people think that anodizing aluminum is pointless since it naturally doesn’t rust. While that’s one form of deterioration this process protects against, it’s not the only one. It can also safeguard aluminum from acid spills, saltwater, and even oxygen.

It may be shocking, but the presence of oxygen is quite bad for standard aluminum because it can react with its own particles. This causes oxidation which in turn causes a layer of aluminum oxide to form on its surface. While this can partially protect the aluminum from other forms of corrosion, it’s better to simply anodize it to improve its protection.

What To Know About the Process

The process of anodization is quite interesting. While it’s quite technical, the important thing to note is that it causes positive ions to quickly escape from a piece of aluminum. This is what causes the holes to form, which eventually forms the rough surface that we see in the end product.

Many people don’t realize that one part of the metal always has to be blocked from this process. That’s because something has to hold the metal stationary inside the fluid. If not, it would sink to the bottom of the tank and mess up the final results.

The metal must get thoroughly cleaned before the procedure even begins in order to ensure consistent results. If you need a precise cleaning, we’d recommend that you use our vibratory finishing equipment. Your aluminum pieces will come out of the other side completely spotless with the right media and cleaning solution,

The Different Types

There are multiple levels to this in-depth procedure. The first is the most basic. Anodized Type I metals are dipped in chromic acid in order to create a thin anodized layer for the finished product. Sulfuric acid gets used to produce a thicker layer for Anodized Type II and III. Type III goes through a much stricter preparation process, resulting in a thick product; this goes a long way for making it the more resilient anodized metal.

How They Are Colored

The last thing you should know about anodizing aluminum is that consumers highly favor it due to its ability to get colored. This is because coloring this type of metal is very straightforward. Thanks to the holes created in the process, paint can effortlessly fill the gaps and hold tight without peeling down the line. The deeper the holes, the better the color will stay over time, so it’s encouraged to use highly anodized metals in consumer products for this reason.