Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
How to blacken aluminum????
Barry Irby
I had some aluminum stock so I used it on the table I am working on. Tucked up under the top and does not really show, but I would like to make it black . I painted it with lacquer spray paint but it just pops off.
Any suggestions on how to make it black. Indoor only, no weather. Doesn't even have to be very wear resistant.
Re: How to blacken aluminum????
Andy Lincoln,in Dearborn MI.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/BIRCHWOOD-CASEY-ALUMINUM-BLACK-TOUCH-UP-BLACK-METAL-FINISH-3-OZ/23237703
Re: How to blacken aluminum????
John K Jordan
I've painted plenty of aluminum. Roughed it up first and cleaned it carefully. I don't think I used lacquer.
And you can search google for how to anodize aluminum.
Re: How to blacken aluminum????
Mark Nowicki
Raw or anodized?
Re: How to blacken aluminum????
Barry Irby
It's raw, I sanded it lightly to remove any surface oxidation or contamination.
Re: How to blacken aluminum???? *LINK*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Hzf5qSljDg
Re: How to blacken aluminum????
Clifton C
I use the Birchwood Casey stuff. Thanks for the vid, I have had subsequent coats pull off the first coat and now I know why...
Try this ...
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
I've been restoring a few Japanese chisels, and this needed to return the steel and iron to black. This is the product I used, purchased locally. It did a great job.
Paint it on. Leave it for 10 minutes. Rinse off. Black.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Don't try without more information
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
Iron oxide and iron phosphate are both black. Any treatment of heat and/or chemical that will make a surface coating of these chemicals on the iron will make it appear black.
The chemistry of aluminum is entirely different. Aluminum oxide and aluminum phosphate are colorless. Any treatment that will make these chemicals on the surface will not result in black aluminum, as was the case with iron. I suspect the product shown either is phosphoric acid or a strong oxidizer that will make the black form of iron oxide.
As far as I know the only way to make aluminum black is to paint it or dye a porous aluminum oxide layer, a process likely beyond the scope of the hobbiest.
Painting aluminum successfully involves some pretreatment of the surface, but I am not knowledgeable of these details.
Re: Don't try without more information
John K Jordan
>>>Painting aluminum successfully involves some pretreatment of the surface, but I am not knowledgeable of these details.
As mentioned, I've painted after mechanically roughing and then cleaning the surface. There are primers made for aluminum but I didn't use one.
The Bob Vila website recommends using a etching primer.
https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-paint-aluminum/
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B087XBFVHJ
Re: Don't try without more information
Derek Cohen (in Perth, Australia)
Yes. Not sure if it would work on aluminium. Works on steel and iron, but these are not the same.
Regards from Perth
Derek
Zinc Chromate Primer
Don
Aluminum and galvanized metal reject most paint. Clean the aluminum thoroughly, then prime it with Zinc Chromate primer before painting. It's available in spray cans. It is an anti-corrosive and an anti-rust primer, and is primarily used to coat aluminum and iron materials. Not good to breath. Read the directions before using and finish painting.
Re: How to blacken aluminum????
Larry Clinton At Frankfort, (Central) Indiana
Barry, don't know how large a piece you want to blacken but Birchwood Casey makes a solution for touching up firearm parts that seems like it would work for you. I have not used the product myself, just knew about it since I collect firearms. Might want to take a look at it - https://www.amazon.com/Aluminum-Black-Touch-Up-3-Oz/dp/B002JCW2CG?th=1
Ordered Birchwood Casey, We'll see
no idea how it blackens
Bill Tindall, E.Tn.
Looked up composition of this stuff. It contains selenium- quite poisonous, some acids, and copper and nickel. No idea why it would react with aluminum to form a black coating.
Barry, report how durable the coating is. Coat, rub on the coated part and see if it readily comes off.
If you really want success, powder coat it
Tim Greif - West of Chicago
Find a local company that does powder coating. Pontoon boat and motorcycle manufacturers have been powder coating aluminum parts and accessories for years.
Powder coat was a good idea, until
J Barrett Irby Jr
I checked with a local company and they want $150 for six 2 x 6 x 1/4" pieces of aluminum. While I under stand and think that's perfectly reasonable for them, I ain't paying that for pieces that bolt under the bottom of the table top and will never be seen except when somebody decides to take the table apart to facilitate hauling it to the dump or turning it into firewood.
Re: Powder coat was a good idea, until
Jesse Cloud
Reminds me of a story one of my teachers told us. The discussion was about what to cover the bottom of a slip seat for a chair - nice fabric or something plain and cheap. His reply was "That kind of thing will only be seen by drunks and infants, don't worry about it."
Rust-Oleum rattlecan
Self Etching Primer
Dale Stansbery
I just watched an episode on a restoration show on TV, the guy who restores anything and everything. He brought up painting aluminum, and said that the key is using a self etching primer specifically made for aluminum. Googling it brings up a number of products.
Re: Zinc Chromate Primer
Philip F Duffy
All Navy aircraft maintence folks know that is The solution on alum. P