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Anodizing the AR15/M16 Bolt Stop Extension
Or
Small-Lot Anodizing
Page Two
I'll sort of ramble along here and tie up some loose ends.
The final step in this anodizing process is the coloration of the pieces. This is done with dye, as common as Rit Fabric Dye, the kind used by your grandmother. Rit is cheap, $2 will dye a lot of area. A (very) little better is commercial anodizing dyes, about 5 to 10 times as expensive. The photo above shows the extensions in various stages of surface finish. On the left is one as it looks at the end of the machine work, next is one that has been vibrated in grit, next is one that has come out of the acid/anodizing bath, and on the right, one that has been dyed black.
Here are a bunch of extensions as they came out of the dye mix. See the one that stands out? The wire in the threaded hole came loose and no current flowed and so no anodizing has taken place. Without anodizing, there are no pores to accept dye.
The dying process consists of putting the anodized pieces in a dense solution of dye and water, soaking about an hour, warming to a simmer, and out. Then the pieces are put in clean water and boiled for about 30 minutes to seal the pores.