blacken AL?

alinwa

oft dis'd member
Has anyone chanced upon a way to blacken aluminum using a liquid?
ie something that works via chemical action, like selen(i)ous acid on ferrous metal?
tia
al
 
I cleaned this scrap Al with NaOH, about 30 seconds in HCl 33 baume. Do outside. How I am going to seal with anodize sealant. I'll post pic after it's sealed.
 

Attachments

  • _DSC0537-modified-400x400.JPG
    _DSC0537-modified-400x400.JPG
    16.1 KB · Views: 396
An old gun magazine showed how to electroplate with lead, which turns out porous, and then dye/seal it. I never tried this; let me know how it works out... :cool:
 
I tried to seal with anodize sealant. Did not work, coating scrapes off easily. You could anodize with black dye but chemicals to get started would be expensive. Here is where I buy mine http://www.caswellplating.com/

Just from the reflectance value change in the pic it looks as though the acid etched the surface fairly deeply?

I know that the H2SEO3 acid solutions Brownell's used for ferrous (44/40, Oxpho-Blue and Dicropan T-4) as well as the various offerings by others such as Birchwood Casey and Blue Wonder etch as well but not very deeply.

anodizing is not an option. Nor is any sort of heat treatment nor paint (ala Brownell's)

I've tried various anilines, Sharpies etc......I can soak the area with care... but I'd really prefer a mild reactance, I think.

Hey, thanks for your interest!

al
 
I do not know, but it would come off with my finger nail. I think the reaction left a coating. I looked at the stuff on brownells, it said for touch up
 
Back
Top