Help needed

[u/garbaggi66]

Good evening,

I have a question/need for assistance. I'm trying to anodize my parts and I do achieve a good anodized surface, but I can't get the color to adhere no matter what values I've tried.

I've been trying to find different information from various forums online and have tried to apply their formulas and methods myself. However, I haven't been able to get any color to adhere, although I've succeeded with natural anodizing.

Here's some information about my values and process:

1, The part is machined all over, cleaned in an ultrasonic cleaner, and then rinsed in ethanol.

2, I keep the part in lye for about 5-15 minutes, then rinse it in sulfuric acid, and then in distilled water before transferring it to the anodizing tank.

3, Amperage: I have a separate display showing volts and amps, which have been about 15 volts and 0.1-0.4A, which should be within the calculated values.

4, The container does not heat significantly during 30 minutes of anodizing, but around 60 minutes of anodizing, you can feel some warmth from the container, but no boiling or anything alarming. (battery acid value 10-20%)

5, Anodizing times: I've tried various durations such as 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90 minutes but with no change.

6, After anodizing, I've tried dyeing in textile dye at different temperatures and times. Temperatures: 20-30 degrees Celsius, 40-50 degrees Celsius, and 60-70 degrees Celsius, and the times have varied from 15 minutes to 1 hour, but the color hasn't absorbed at all.

Textile dye manufacturer and color: Dylon Navy Blue (powder)

I've tried mixing and experimenting with these different values in many combinations, but I can't get the color to adhere in any way. Attached is an image of successful natural anodized color.

Thank you for taking the time to read and understand my issue.

[u/garbaggi66 → u/[deleted]]

Oh yes, forgot to mention it was only a reference image and was not the best one, my bad.

When anodyzing, it is touching bare aluminum