Took over 30 hours to get things exactly the way I wanted. Two 50# bags of medium density soda for rough clean-up getting all the remaining powder coat from the belly pan nooks, crannies, web reinforcements, screw stand-offs and relieved logo casting and orbital sanding and filing marks out of the belly pan. Then another full 50# bag of 'fine' density for finish patina on everything, inside & out. Then once that was done I put everything together and taped the rear cover on from underneath and did it again as a fully assembled unit. That way there will be no difference between blast pattern textures and directions once parts are anodized where those patterns would be patently obvious if pieces were done separately, anodized then assembled. Sadly tho I cannot show anything to you. The aluminum velour-like surface is now so soft I could alter it with a firm thumb print. Even plastic or cardboard could now scratch or burnish the surface finish. That means I got it thru a rinse to remove all soda residue and let it air dry on multiple layers of beach towels then immediately wrapped each piece individually in 100% cotton terry towels with a minimum of 6 layers surrounding each side of each part then taped closed. Overkill yes, absolutely as its a whole nother 50# of soda and another 8-10 hours if a single blemish were to occur before anodizing.
A bit more about the anodizing. I'll be using a hard grade of Type II anodizing but steering clear of Type III which is uber hard anodizing or often referred to as 'hard coat.' Type 3 wreaks havoc with small threads of which there are 20 or so threaded bosses I need to keep intact in the underside of the Devialet top. In fact I have to use aluminum sacrificial screws during anodizing to thread into those so I retain the necessary "ground" connection via all but one PCB mounting screw and 18mm PCB stand-offs. And no anodizing shop will allow anything 'steel' near an anodizing tank... contaminates the entire tank on contact!! I'm sure I'll even have to prove my screws are aluminum rather than steel before they'll accept the parts. Since anodizing is NOT conductive, up to 1,000V I'm better served here by an "ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure." Far easier to mask those grounds with aluminum screws threaded into the bosses than to try and scrape the anodizing off them later. The anodizing layer itself is hard, Hard, HARD!! At/near Rockwell 58, harder than hard chrome, tool steel and about the same hardness as drill bits! Can't chip, crack, blister or peel. You could throw a handful of coins on the top once done and rub them around hard as you like but it won't scaratch! But sandpaper will scratch it because a lot of sandpaper is the same thing the anodizing layer is... aluminum oxide. Surface anodizing aluminum is a lot like a sapphire crystal over firm mud. You could still easily dent the Devialet top slightly with even a small wood mallet strike but it wouldn't scratch!
The scarey side of this is we get one shot at it. You cannot re-anodize an anodized part! If something/anything goes south I have to start over. This time with a high alkalinity based dip to remove the anodizing... the opposite of acid used for the nickel/chrome plating removal. Then re-soda blast et al. A scarey thought to me only 5 weeks out from RMAF!
Next pictures you see of my 200 should be the first totally black satin anodized, non-magnetic/non-conductive Devialet Expert on the planet!! Exciting stuff for me!
A bit more about the anodizing. I'll be using a hard grade of Type II anodizing but steering clear of Type III which is uber hard anodizing or often referred to as 'hard coat.' Type 3 wreaks havoc with small threads of which there are 20 or so threaded bosses I need to keep intact in the underside of the Devialet top. In fact I have to use aluminum sacrificial screws during anodizing to thread into those so I retain the necessary "ground" connection via all but one PCB mounting screw and 18mm PCB stand-offs. And no anodizing shop will allow anything 'steel' near an anodizing tank... contaminates the entire tank on contact!! I'm sure I'll even have to prove my screws are aluminum rather than steel before they'll accept the parts. Since anodizing is NOT conductive, up to 1,000V I'm better served here by an "ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure." Far easier to mask those grounds with aluminum screws threaded into the bosses than to try and scrape the anodizing off them later. The anodizing layer itself is hard, Hard, HARD!! At/near Rockwell 58, harder than hard chrome, tool steel and about the same hardness as drill bits! Can't chip, crack, blister or peel. You could throw a handful of coins on the top once done and rub them around hard as you like but it won't scaratch! But sandpaper will scratch it because a lot of sandpaper is the same thing the anodizing layer is... aluminum oxide. Surface anodizing aluminum is a lot like a sapphire crystal over firm mud. You could still easily dent the Devialet top slightly with even a small wood mallet strike but it wouldn't scratch!
The scarey side of this is we get one shot at it. You cannot re-anodize an anodized part! If something/anything goes south I have to start over. This time with a high alkalinity based dip to remove the anodizing... the opposite of acid used for the nickel/chrome plating removal. Then re-soda blast et al. A scarey thought to me only 5 weeks out from RMAF!
Next pictures you see of my 200 should be the first totally black satin anodized, non-magnetic/non-conductive Devialet Expert on the planet!! Exciting stuff for me!
Statements in my posts are opinion only, not to be construed as fact. Any projects I engage in are at my own risk! Their outcome cannot be assured and may result in success, small/no change or catastrophic failure. I encourage no one rely on anything I say or do as gospel and to realize your mileage may vary!
