Customer

Thank you for inquiring about the anodizing process.  The following is a listing of what the anodizing process

and Aluminum Coating Technologies will do or not do for your parts.

1.     The process is only done to aluminum metal.  If you have any other metal connected to your part we

can not run it through the process.  Many times parts that people want to have redone have steel

inserts or some type of steel bracket connected to them.  We cannot process any aluminum with this

condition.  You must remove the non-aluminum material before proceeding with the processing

2.     If your parts are painted, either partially or completely, all the paint must be removed before processing.

Aluminum Coating Technologies does not remove paint or any type of coating other than anodizing.  That is,

we only handle “raw” or anodized aluminum.

3.     If you have multiple parts that are multiple types of aluminum, your final color, hue, or shade may very

depending on the type of aluminum.  We cannot predict how different from part to part this may be.  This is

the customer’s risk.

4.     In all cases of anodizing, the surface condition of the aluminum before anodizing is a direct indication

of what the condition will be after the process is complete.  If you are looking for a smooth shiny surface

then your parts must be smooth and shiny before we process them.  This is accomplished by mechanically

polishing the parts.  Again, the degree of polishing is what will greatly affect your final product.  Some people

polish the parts themselves, some people take their parts to a professional polishing company.  Note, if you

have parts that you are redoing (meaning they have anodize on them), the old anodize must be stripped off the

parts before you can proceed with any polishing or anodizing.  This is accomplished by bringing the parts to us

so that we can remove the anodize properly.

                a.  Depending on your requirements for aesthetics (how it looks), the following summarizes your options.

                                                               i.      Strip the old anodize off and run the parts straight back through the process.  This will

                                     leave all the old scratches, pits, and any other imperfections in the final product. 

                                     If your part was polished before stripping it will loose a significant amount of the shine

                                     when it gets stripped.

                                                             ii.       Strip the old anodize off, mechanically sand and or scotch brite the surface in an effort to remove 

                                    as many imperfections as possible.  In most cases Aluminum Coating Technologies

                                    can do the mechanical finishing on the parts prior to anodize.

                             iii.   Strip the old anodize off, mechanically polish as many of the imperfections out of the material

                                   as you decide to, either yourself or by a professional polisher, leaving the parts with a degree

                                   of shine that you want.

5.     Pricing and turn around time.  If your parts require stripping of old anodize you will bring them in and will be charged a separate charge for the stripping and anodizing.  Generally the stripping time will be 4 to 6 days and the anodizing time is also 4 to 6 days.  Always call before you come to pick up your job to verify that it is complete and ready for pickup.

            a.   There is not a standard price for any job.  We ultimately have to evaluate the amount of work we will be

                  doing on your job and price accordingly.