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

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
So, I want to remove a few small bits of colour from my bike.

I know deanodising is a thing, so wondered who's done it - and is there any tips or tricks you might have?

I would probably favour a slower, gentler approach that may need to be repeated a couple of times compared to a "everything froths up and if you leave it a second too long the aluminium crumbles afterwards" approach.
 

hellmansam

Likes Bikes and Dirt
I'd go with soda or dry ice blasting. Then Cerakote in whatever colour you want, they have some nice metal colours like stainless, Ti, aluminium etc, and it won't oxidise like raw aluminium.
edit to add: not DIY methods, due to setup cost.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
@hellmansam - That sound awesome, but I just want to strip one fork dial so doubt the costs involved would be worthwhile unfortunately.
 
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leitch

Feelin' a bit rrranty
You can afford a Transition but can’t afford a bottle of Citro-clean? That makes sense :p
Did you have luck with the NaOH-based drain cleaner back when you were trying to strip that stem? @beeb that’s the other angle.
 

Jpez

Down on the left!
Did you have luck with the NaOH-based drain cleaner back when you were trying to strip that stem? @beeb that’s the other angle.
Yeah it worked fine but would have needed too much polishing to get it where I wanted it so gave up and bought a shiny I9 stem. Anything stripped will come up dull so will need proper polishing if that is the desired effect.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Caustic soda in warm water worked well:
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Took roughly two heaped teaspoons in 500ml of water to get the reaction happening. Had the goggles and gloves, should've given more heed to the "well ventilated" suggestions though... :oops:

@Ultra Lord - the yellow will be gone soon enough! ;)
 

Jpez

Down on the left!
That looks great! Came up heaps shinier than my attempt. Mmmmm. Maybe I can do my fork crown....
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
That looks great! Came up heaps shinier than my attempt. Mmmmm. Maybe I can do my fork crown....
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: ;)
375291
 

Jpez

Down on the left!
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 was kinda dreaming. that Sort of endeavour is beyond my ken!
By the way! Some little rat bag outfit from Canada went and pinched your Waltly design! I’d be sending some heavily worded emails!
375292
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
I was kinda dreaming. that Sort of endeavour is beyond my ken!
By the way! Some little rat bag outfit from Canada went and pinched your Waltly design! I’d be sending some heavily worded emails! View attachment 375292
Haha, saw one of those on NSMB the other day, made me do a strong double-take!
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
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
Cover it with a clear coat ASAP if you want to preserve the shine; raw aluminium will start to oxidise pretty quickly and go dull & flaky.
 

beeb

Dr. Beebenson, PhD HA, ST, Offset (hons)
Cover it with a clear coat ASAP if you want to preserve the shine; raw aluminium will start to oxidise pretty quickly and go dull & flaky.
I'll probably hit it with some (tinted) clear coat in time, but it should be right for a bit. It's some kind of alloy by the looks of it so nowhere near as reactive as pure aluminium. I was also pretty careful to stop the caustic reaction by using the mildest solution possible, washing the parts in warm water while rubbing it down with a microfibre cloth, cleaning it with isopropyl, then giving it a light polish. I've since touched it with my bare hands and left it several hours now and it hasn't started fizzling away (I've got the acid touch), so it should be right for a bit. If it starts to go over the next few days I'll clear coat it, but I'm planning a tinted clear-coat to match the shock I'll end up getting, so I'll likely just wait until then if I can.

Worst case I have a spare dial so I can start over and heed your advice!
 

The Duckmeister

Has a juicy midrange
I don't think pure aluminium is used in any product, it's too temperamental, therefore it's assumed that it's an alloy of some composition. Still, it will begin to oxidise fairly rapidly. When you've picked your coating, give it another scrub to be sure there's no scale and put the coating on straight away.
 

LPG

likes thicc birds
I used a bit of draino diluted in water for a knob on my shock. Worked well with results almost identical to beebs (same disgusting golden yellow I got rid of too)
 
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