Polish my Jewels (no don't it tickles)
You guys are killing me, now you want trade secrets. Okay, just this once and since you asked so nice.
1. Never ever glass bead blast Aluminum anything and Anodize it later, if you Anodize black and touch it - it will turn gray, colors will turn murky.
2. Tumble Aluminum in Green plastic Media triangles from C and M topline at:
http://www.candmtopline.com Call them they know what works as well. Take care of your media (wet and dry, and it will last a long time)
Use warm water and Simple Green as the lubricant and cleaner. Usually 30 min. to 90 min. will do. It will give you a dull but deburred part. Wash the parts in a dishwasher using palmolive gel soap (don't use no name or cheap brand as it will etch your part).
3. After you clean out the tumbler and dry it, disable the pump and tape over the drain with gaffers tape or duct tape - use something durable.
Fill Tumbler with Tumble dry with rouge (red or green) available from the Graves Company (
http://www.gravescompany.com/grit.htm) Load your parts and run, could take 24 - 96 hours depending on how highly polished you want your parts. You can run shorter and Electro-Brite the parts which is a chemical process to brighten the work piece. Electro-Brite is usually used before Anodizing. After you polish with Red Rouge and Walnut Hulls you want to run them through the Dishwasher again.
You can get a Commercial Dishwasher like a Hobart (there are other brands) used from a restaurant supply for <1K in good shape. You can also spend a small fortune for a fancy parts cleaning system. The reason I like a Commercial Dishwasher is because they are usually Stainless Steel on the inside. have water heaters built in to jack up the water temp, and have a short cycle (typically 3 min. or less).
If you anodize anything, your Anodizer may charge you less if they know that you have precleaned your parts and they don't have to. Besides sometimes they use caustic chemicals that may take your parts below critical tolerances.
When parts come back from Anodize - never ever hot wash the parts as you might damage the sealer which is usually Nickel Acetate and is sesitive to hot water washes (ask me how I know
).
So there you have it learning through Trials and Tribulations how to make your Aluminum parts look like a million bucks. But hey you all are big Boys and Girls so do as you see fit, if you want to save money and time follow the steps. I have tried every short cut and process known, I know what works. But if you want to try stuff like "Nice and Easy" or some acid process - its your hands and face and clothes.
I stick to non-harsh chemicals so I can breath and retire without dragging oxygen around on a cart.
Frank S. in Tennessee
One more thing - Taking parts to Anodizers or sending them to Dragon Anodizing? Wrap them in News Print paper (unused). You can get drops or end rolls from the local News Paper or from Uline buy a roll and wrap your parts. It cuts down on damage, oxidation etc. Don't use News paper from Sundays paper. The ink will leech into your parts and you will not be happy.