Light Metals Finishing

Mark Jozefowicz * Technical Manager: Metals

Clariant Corporation • 4000 Monroe Rd. • Charlotte, NC 28205

Dyeing Anodized Aluminum

More than a thousand companies in The preparation of a dye bath is rel- hydroxide, to increase the pH, or
North America color anodize alumi- atively simple. The dye bath should acetic acid, to reduce it.
num. These companies vary from job- be filled about 2/3 full with hot de- Concentration is best monitored
shops with 45-gallon tanks to archi- mineralized water and the dye added with a spectrophotometer at the wave-
tectural plants with vessels that hold to it. If the dye is purchased in powder length where maximum absorption
7,000 gallons or more. The majority of or granulated form, a slurry should be takes place. For the majority of anod-
these firms use organic dyes to color prepared first by taking a half-filled izers who do not have this equipment,
an equally wide range of products. bucket of the pre-heated water and a visual method can be used with
Items range from sporting equipment adding the dye with stirring. The good results. In the lab, make up
and cosmetic packages, to automotive slurry is then added to the tank with known standards of varying concentra-
and space station parts. agitation to ensure complete disso- tion. Dilute each by the same amount
Regardless of the company size or lution. A liquid dye can be added to a point where you can tell dif-
the product that is color anodized, the directly to the tank. If required, a buff- ferences by looking through the solu-
same technical questions come up time ering salt and a little acid is also added tions—for black dyes the dilution
and time again. Questions relating to to adjust and maintain the pH. Most should be about 200/1. Finally, dilute
dye choice, bath preparation and qual- dye baths are run at a pH of 5.5–6.0, your unknown bath by the same
ity control are common, as well as the and are kept there with sodium acetate amount and make a visual comparison
effects of alloys, anodizing conditions, and a little acetic acid. Since there are with the standards. This method can be
and rinsing, which all too often lead exceptions, one should always consult surprisingly accurate once you’ve had
to costly defects and downtime. Then the technical bulletin supplied by the a little practice.
there is that black smut or white spot- dye vendor before making up a bath. All too often, the concentration of a
ting problem that comes and goes, Dyeing is a straightforward process dye bath is where it should be, yet it
leaving many anodizers scratching where the anodized load is simply does not dye as it did when it was
their heads. This article will attempt to immersed in the dye bath for a first made up. The color can be off,
answer some of these questions. period of time sufficient to achieve or just too light. A dye is a complex
the desired shade. The desired shade organic molecule that can be sensitive
All About Dyes should be achieved in no less than to drag-in of contaminants, growth of
When it comes to choosing a dye, an two minutes; otherwise, uniformity of molds, and even, in some cases, heat.
anodizer should think about buying an color within the load and between When the effective strength of dilute
economical product that he/she con- loads can become an issue. For special dye bath falls off, the prudent course
fidently feels will produce the target cases where optimal light or heat of action in many instances is to
color in a consistent manner. Other fastness is important, full saturation simply dump the bath and then re-
factors may include light- or heat-fast- dyeing is necessary. For these cases, charge. Struggling to keep the bath
ness requirements, ease of use, and the dye must be in good working in reasonable working condition is
spent dye disposal. It is very easy to order, and the load must be left to soak usually not justified, considering the
judge the economy of a dye solely on for 20 minutes or longer. potential costs in production time, re-
its price, but this is not a wholly accu- Quality control of a dye bath usually work, and unhappy customers.
rate measure. What is the lost value takes the form of monitoring pH and Because of their concentration and
of a defect, or a faded part that has concentration. In general, the solubil- size, black dye baths may be the
been returned by an angry customer? ity of a dye is proportional to pH. The exception. The cost of dye to recharge
How about the cost of dye disposal? lower the pH, the lower the solubility. and the expense of disposing the
Another important factor should be One should keep in mind that many spent bath can outweigh production
productivity. For instance, high-perfor- dyes are multi-component mixes. If slow downs and lower-quality finished
mance black dyes can easily color a one or more of these components products. Anodizers often find it in
0.4 mil thick anodic film. That’s half is sensitive to pH fluctuations, color their best interest to continue to run
the anodize time and power typically shifts can occur. The optimum pH can these tanks as long as possible.
used throughout the industry! be achieved by either adding sodium Measuring effective dye strength is
104 PLATING & SURFACE FINISHING
not easy. It involves dyeing panels in directly impacts how well a part either alone or in combination with a
standardized baths as well as the test accepts dye and its final appearance. hot water or mid-temperature magne-
bath, extracting the dye adsorbed by Both alloy and the anodizing process sium seal. The nickel is a functional
the panels and finally measuring the determine these coating characteris- component of the seal. It serves to
quantity of dye extracted. The prac- tics. Usually, an anodizer can do lock in the dyestuff, minimize bleed-
ticed anodizer will often have a good little with regard to alloy selection; out, and improve the color fastness of
“feel” for the effectiveness of their however, some control over the final the product. A common problem that
black dye bath by simply noting how appearance can be established by is usually blamed on the seal is the
well and how fast the dye is picked up adjusting the current density, time and presence of smut, which is a powdery
by their parts compared to when the temperature in the anodizing tank. surface residue that is often found on
bath was first charged. As a general rule, increased current deep colors and black.
There are differences of opinion as densities and lower anodizing temper- It is important to understand that the
to how to use effective strength values atures create less porous coatings of source of this defect may, in fact be the
as a QA tool, or whether it is necessary reduced clarity. An extreme example soft anodize conditions, or even inad-
at all. Studies have shown that some would be hard coat where current den- equate de-oxidizing following the pre-
dyes can be used for long-term out- sities of 25 A/ft2 (or higher), at 300°F treatment. If the defect can be traced to
door exposure applications. For such (or lower), produce coatings which can the seal tank, then pH should be exam-
product applications, both the choice be nearly opaque. Dyeing becomes a ined, filtration should be used, and the
of dye and the effective strength are challenge, and the palette of available dispersant level in the seal, checked.
important. Therefore, if a product’s colors is limited. Common methods By using proper anodizing and sealing
light-fastness is guaranteed, effective of dealing with this challenge include conditions this defect can be elimi-
strength of the dye should be moni- immersion for 2-5 minutes in a 10-per- nated in an effective manner.
tored. cent nitric acid solution, or re-anodiz-
ing for 5 minutes under more aggres- In Summary
Other Process Effects sive conditions. Both of these methods Despite the relative simplicity of the
Proper cleaning and rinsing are impor- will deteriorate wear resistance to color-anodizing process, things can go
tant in achieving color uniformity. If some extent. astray. If not kept in check, individual
the soil is not completely removed On the other extreme are coatings production parameters and their varied
during the pretreatment, the possibility that are highly porous. These are anod- interactions can lead to costly produc-
exists for areas where the color won’t ized at elevated temperatures (75°F or tion down time, defects, or even cus-
take. Improper rinsing will more typ- higher) and low current density (12 tomer claims. By following the basics
ically result in mottled or streaked A/ft2 or lower). These “soft” coatings for good cleaning, rinsing, anodizing,
films. In the cases where microporos- are relatively easy to dye, and allow dyeing, and sealing, very few prob-
ity, blind holes, or otherwise difficult- for the production of a wider palette, lems will be encountered. It’s the
to-rinse areas exist, white spots may including bright colors. Soft coatings responsibility of all anodizers to pro-
result. A good idea is the use of a nitric are also more difficult to seal and tend duce a product which will continue to
acid immersion treatment between the to develop more smut. The preferred give color-anodized aluminum the per-
anodizing and coloring steps. This pro- conditions for decorative anodizing is ception of quality we have come to
cedure serves to condition the film for to run the temperature at or near 70°F, enjoy. P&SF
improved dye up-take, and minimize and the current density between 12-15
the risk of a variety of potential color- A/ft2.
ing problems. Sealing is a necessary step toward
The morphology and inherent color achieving a quality color-anodized
of the “as-anodized” oxide film part. Often a nickel seal is best used,

May 2001 105