removing anodized colour

[treehugger]

after sitting on a nice set of lunsford T2 turnbuckles i finaly get to use them on a new build but t my dismay two are to longafter checking the manual YES THERE TO FR*****G LONG well i see it as a chalenge so i hit the parts bin and bring out some purple lunsfords of the right length so i heard oven cleaner is this a good removal tool ?

thanks for looking

[LowClassCC]

Needed items to remove anodizing

* Easy-Off Heavy Duty Original Oven Cleaner (Yellow Can!). Do not get any of the other varieties.
* Glass dish or suitably sized glass tray (I used a glass oven dish)
* An old tooth brush
* Parts you desire to “strip”
* Aluminum polishing compound (note: Brasso eats aluminum in bad ways).
* Well ventilated room

Removing the anodizing

Before you start, be certain to follow any saftey recommendations included on the label of the can and get permission from your parents or your better half prior to using one of their good glass dishes, Easy-Off, and the kitchen sink (if you plan to do this indoors as I did).

1. Clean the aluminum part with some dish soap and a scrub brush or the tooth brush. The goal is to get as much dirt off as possible. Yes, the oven cleaner will remove the dirt…but it will also remove the anodizing in an uneven fashion that might mar the look of the finished product (voice of experience speaking here).

2. Place the glass dish in the sink and place the part to be “stripped” in the glass dish. If you have multiple parts, it is best to place them all in at the same time (if they will fit). This will save on fumes and reduce the wasted oven cleaner.

3. Spray a nice even coating of the oven cleaner over the parts. The parts should start to foam up and you may even see some of the anodizing starting to bleed off.

4. Wait no more than three minutes and then rinse the parts thoroughly. I used the toothbrush here again to help the oven cleaner remove some anodizing during the rinse.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until you have a nice raw looking piece of aluminum.

Note, the longer you leave the oven cleaner on, the higher the chance you will pit the aluminum.

Also, note that the metal might take on a blackened look if it takes too many baths in the oven cleaner. This slight oxidation of the metal comes off with a bit of Comet cleaner and a scrub.

6. The final step is to polish the metal until you are satisfied with its “shine.” You may not get a bright chrome-like polish without using a proper polishing wheel, polish, and buffer. What you will end up with is a good brushed aluminum look.
Aluminum parts after anodizing removed

Without attempting to get a chrome shine, the parts I “stripped” of anodizing all came out with a good raw aluminum look. I did use a polish cloth to give it some shine, but the end result still looked good. I took about an hour to do a steering servo skid, two chassis braces, and the two shock towers. The T-Maxx looks much nicer in a mix of black, anodized blue and raw silver aluminum.

If the only color you can get your part in is something you would not rather put on your truck, a $3.50 can of oven cleaner and some time can give you a nice silver part (which goes well with any other color). Give it a try and you might be able to save yourself the time it would take the LHS to order the part.

[treehugger]

dose this work for Ti as myturn buckles are lunsford titainium (hope mt spealing is correct)

[Charlie don't surf]

Yes it does, but you might want to hang onto a purple set of lunsfords, the regular ones are a dime a dozen--have any pics of the ones you have?

[treehugger]

i will roung them up tommorow and take pic .
suffering from a hostile take over on my hobby room at the mo haD TO GIVE THE WIFE HALF (well after a deal struck she got 18% of floor space) so all my s**t is kinda layered

[rawpwr]

after sitting on a nice set of lunsford T2 turnbuckles i finaly get to use them on a new build but t my dismay two are to longafter checking the manual YES THERE TO FR*****G LONG well i see it as a chalenge so i hit the parts bin and bring out some purple lunsfords of the right length so i heard oven cleaner is this a good removal tool ?

thanks for looking

I used Greased Lightning on my hpi baja and it did a awesome job!!!! oh yeah and it's a lot safer too
http://www.bajaplanet.com/baja-mechanic/tutorials/de-anodizing-parts-the-safe-way/

[scr8p]

i found out the hard way about greased lightning like 3-4 years ago. i sprayed up some gold shock bodies in the sink and let them set for a bit. came back, my sink turned gold, and the shocks were silver. i then read the back of the bottle and it says right on it....... don't use on anodizing. oops

[Lowgear]

I've always just thrown the parts in a slider Ziploc bag with some oven cleaner. I never thought of using Greased Lightning or combined with an ultrasonic cleaner! But after watching that video I think i'm going to invest in both!

[treehugger]

the charlie dont surf dude made a good point why ruin some purple ones when there are alot of plain one im holding of on the stipping

[m_vice]

anyone done both? what works best?

[treehugger]

i used that oven cleaner this week with mixed results i was stripping my worlds and a blue chassis and no they were not in good condition the blue one it did not stip it all of and and had scratches under the ano kinda strange like they filled it before coating same with the worlds it had a scratch under the ano but the gold ones you could see the different eras of ano dark gold came of easy light ano didnt want to budge .

Paul

[Bormac]

I've been removing anodized colour from my shocks with bi-carb soda. I'm sure that's what it's called. Anyway this stuff comes in dried granule form and adds to cold water in a bucket. I drop the items into the bucket with a piece of wire attached then remove in 10 minutes to find the shock bodies turn a dull grey/black. This wipes off easily enough then I just polish with mag wheel cleaner and presto!

[Mad Racer]

If they are to long you can shorten them with a dreamel and cut off tool.

Have done this alot as they are always too long better than short though.

[vintage AE]

I like seeing these tech tips come up again even though previous ones have been posted. I been looking for just this thread but you all know how searching for something like removing anodizing can be. That's a great link for grease lightning.

[DHood]

I use a lye and water solution to strip anodising. Works way better than oven cleaner.