The dye is an addition to the basic process. So yes you can do exactly as you describe with no problems.

cheers

Bill

The main thing Bill, is cleanliness and chemical cleaning. You obviously know that you have to etch the Alu. with a caustic solution? You should also see if you can get some , 'Anti smut' solution and you use this between baths.

Finishing is with a Lanolin solution which fills the pores of the anodising. Make sure you leave no salts in any holes as corrosion will occur. A boiling water bath will suffice.

As an aside, we have a powder coat plant next door to us at work and I have been watching, they pre-heat the item and then spray the powder and according to the chap it saves using static attraction. The finished items look as good as any I have seen.

Clive

The lanolin is to seal the pores caused by the etch! There are other proprietry solutions on the market that seal the surface. The etch bath prepares the surface for the actual anodising function. By all means clean as you have described but the surface finish is only as good as the etch depth and that is a function of time in the etch!

The etch takes materiel off and the anodising puts some back on and makes a durable surface. At that point you put it in a colour dye or leave natural colour. Then you seal the surface. Durability is graded as a number and 25 being used for outdoor exposure and cosmetic as number 5. Remember that most anodising is done in large batches for uniformity of surface and colour so that a rigid time sequence is required. It is not just a dip and dunk system.

Clive

I've done quite a bit of anodising, and I used to do the acid etch and de-smut, but now I've simplified and still get good and consistent results.

That battery acid needs diluting with the same quantity of distilled or de-ionised water, and remember to AlwaysAddAcid, never add the water.

Polish the part you want to anodised, then scrub it in hot soapy water. Wear surgical gloves or you leave fingerprints. Rinse well in cold distilled etc, you can buy it in 25litre drums at my local battery depot for £10. Suspend in the acid from aluminium wire, with positive connected to the part (which then becomes the Anode), and the negative connected to a large piece of lead sheet submerged in the acid. Length of time depends on size/current available, but after time is up, lift it out of acid (gloves&goggles) and into rinse water. Drop it into boiling water for about twenty minutes, although I use a pressure cooker. After boiling let it cool, but whilst it is still quite hot, rub it all over with a candle, thenbuff it with a soft cloth. Job done.