What's new
What's new

Aluminum Oxidizing?

Papasmurf89

Plastic
Joined
Dec 25, 2004
Location
Palos Verdes Est.
Hi,

If this is the wrong forum feel free to move it I just wasn't sure where I should put it. I'm an avid airsofter (There replica guns that shoot plastick 6mm BB's) and a current problem in the airsoft world is that we were sanding a frame for a Para-Ordnance (To turn it to silver from black) and we couldn't find anything to keep it form oxidizing. We tried clear coating but that failed miserably. What do you recommend we use?

Thanks!
 
Do you have any pictures that could be posted? Aluminum oxidizes rapidly but to a surface that is basically the same color as bare metal. The oxidizing stops after a very thin layer is created, unlike steel which will rust away completely.
 
Here's one picture:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v88/trdsupragt/DSC00510.jpg

Here's the original forum post:

http://www.airsoftretreat.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=43267&whichpage=9

Everything listed under P14 is one. The original paint was black and he sanded it down. There's a guy named FYW on the forum that did it and he said it turned out disastrous when he tried to clear coat it. It supposedly scratched VERY easily and it messed up all of his internals. Drop him and email if you like.

Thanks for the reply!
 
the first option,if it were me, would be Hardcoat Anodize in the color of your choice.
second would be powder coat if just color is important.
i believe that the hadrcoat would last longer and look better...jim
 
Without having one of these items at hand to examine, I can only guess at the problem. However, my guess is that the frame is zinc diecasting metal, not aluminum. Cold blues will not color aluminum but some will color zinc. In my experience, zinc oxide is not self protecting (as is aluminum oxide) and bare zinc will continually oxidize. My suggestion, if you want a silver colored pistol, is to clean the surface thoroughly, followed immediately with a coat of zinc chromate primer (yellow colored stuff), then by a coat or more of silver paint. The more paint, the better the protection.
 
Okay, thanks. What paint do you recommend? On the Airsoft Forums we were talking about using Brownell's Gun Kote Bake On Paint but they didn't have a silver version, only matte gray.

Here are some posts buy some guys on the content of the frame/slide:

trdsupragt - 7000 series maybe. hard to say. a lot of the aluminum slides are different. or so they seem. perhaps when i get back to school i can check it out. i go to a "technical" school so we have technologies or shops (no not stores for those of you who are trying to be funny). and im currently a materials science major. i rather enjoy what i do too.

FYW - It is Taiwan-grade aluminum according to a source somewhere... I believe it may contain a little bit of magnsium and zinc for added weight and structure... not sure exactly what kind though. Not a Material Science/Chem E. major...

Also, could you please explain Hard Coat and Powder Coat?

Hope this helps.

Thank you.
 
hard coat anodizing is a surface treatment where the aluminum is thoroughly cleaned then etched with acid then dyed then sealed. iirc.
powder coat is a process where the part to be coated is charged + or - then the coating mixture sticks to it by being charged the opposite. then the part with the coating on it is baked and the coating becomes a protective surface...jim
 
I think it is zinc also. you can have it plated with nickel or chrome, or powder coated, there are lots of small powder coat shops that specialize in small one off stuff mostly for bike customizers. or you can wet paint it, I think it should be plated. One way to determine if zinc is weight, aluminum is light, zinc is heavy. look up zinc's specific gravity and measure.
 
Anodizing is sort of a reverse plating process where an oxide coat is developed on the aluminum surface electrolytically. Initially this coat is porous, so it can be dyed to color it. After dyeing, the coat is boiled to seal the pores. There are a number of home anodizing sites on the internet if you want a more detailed answer.
 
Thanks for all of the replies. Since this gun is only $125 I don't want to spend boatloads of cash fixing it up. What do you think is the cheapest method that would still be effective?

Thank you.
 
could be pot metal. it's inexpensive and easy to cast. i've had a couple of old revolvers come my way and the lower frames were made of this junk. i don't recommend trying to anodize it until you know for sure what it's made of. pot metal oxidizes quickly..noticeable even overnight.
one product that should work is lauer custom weaponry's duracoat finish. not too expensive and it's made specifically for firearms. www.midwayusa.com carries a lot of their stuff.
search the gunsmithing section for lauer.
 








 
Back
Top