Deanodising - Who's done it, what's your technique?

kten

understands stuff moorey doesn't
Is the crown anodised or painted? Either way, not sure I'd want to play with caustic solutions that near the anodised stanchions or the stanchion and steerer interfaces!

FYI, I gave it a light rub with some Autosol to give it a touch more shine: ;)
View attachment 375291
Mate, how good would an EXT shock look with those colours! Seriously not a sales ploy either :p, those colours are a rock solid understated combo
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
That's awesome - I didn't think it would come off so easily without removing the writing
In the original manufacturing of the dial, the writing would have been laser-etched post-anodising, which creates a textured finish in the surface of the metal (and is what turns the writing white IIRC...). The caustic soda removes the oxidised outer surface of the metal (that captured the coloured dye added to the anodising solution/process) without digging too much past that.

I thought it might dig into the metal more and give a duller/rougher finish, but I deliberately kept the caustic mix as mild as possible and did it in several passes to minimise that damage. So far so good anyway!
 

Dales Cannon

lightbrain about 4pm
Staff member
I have machined some anodised parts (suspension hats etc) and I was surprised that the anodising affected the dimensional accuracy of the parts. Not much but if you took the lightest of skims it was hit and miss on the surface.
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Is the crown anodised or painted? Either way, not sure I'd want to play with caustic solutions that near the anodised stanchions or the stanchion and steerer interfaces!

FYI, I gave it a light rub with some Autosol to give it a touch more shine: ;)
View attachment 375291
I did this today and it came out exactly like this until...
I noticed the gold anodising underneath and applied more but when I turned it over all the etching was gone.
Painted it black in the end.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I did this today and it came out exactly like this until...
I noticed the gold anodising underneath and applied more but when I turned it over all the etching was gone.
Painted it black in the end.
Crikey, sounds like the caustic mix might've been a bit strong?
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I did it multiple times and tried to just do the underside but it leaked over and under. It's all good though.
Did it have an air-pocket trapped under the dial while you were doing the top possibly? Regardless of outcome - glad you had a go!
 

mas2

Likes Bikes and Dirt
Did it have an air-pocket trapped under the dial while you were doing the top possibly? Regardless of outcome - glad you had a go!
I think so. Anything looks better than that gold though. I just dont understand why manufacturers put blue, red, and gold dials on forks that are all black. They make millions of the things. Just make different colours.
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
I think so. Anything looks better than that gold though. I just dont understand why manufacturers put blue, red, and gold dials on forks that are all black. They make millions of the things. Just make different colours.
Not sure where the gold fits in, but blue & red dials are somewhat agreed, possibly unofficial standard for compression and rebound damper adjusters respectively.
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
Gave it a go today Dr. I gave it a really quick polish but will do it properly with the dremel and pad when I’m at the workshop. Dipped it 3 times with a brush down and wash in between. When I went out for the day I left it in a glass of water just in case. Then quick polish this afternoon
389879
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Gave it a go today Dr. I gave it a really quick polish but will do it properly with the dremel and pad when I’m at the workshop. Dipped it 3 times with a brush down and wash in between. When I went out for the day I left it in a glass of water just in case. Then quick polish this afternoon
View attachment 389879
Looking good @Scotty675! You went full-tilt on the polish, going to be very bling-bling once done!
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
It polished a lot easier than I was expecting. That was only a bit on autosol aluminium on a chux type workshop towel and a quick rub. I was to put a tinted clear over the top. Something like this. Don’t know how it will go but I can always take it off again
389881
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
It polished a lot easier than I was expecting. That was only a bit on autosol aluminium on a chux type workshop towel and a quick rub. I was to put a tinted clear over the top. Something like this. Don’t know how it will go but I can always take it off again
View attachment 389881
Don’t know if I’d bother with a clear coat to be honest… Mine doesn’t look any different to when I deanodised it, and I’ve got that faintly acidic sweat that normally makes any bare metal corrode - so it seems it should hold its lustre fairly well as-is.
 

Scotty675

Cable thief
I nearly did the air cap as well but I don’t mind the colour I wished they did them both that grey. As we know I love raaw though
 

komdotkom

Likes Bikes and Dirt
You might find the paint doesn't stick very well to the polished surface too, I've had that problem with intercooler pipes before. I suppose if you clean it with acetone or gun wash before hand it should be fine, but as per what Beeb says I reckon it'll be fine.
 
Top