How do I get matte blackening on aluminum parts

[PurpLev]

How do I get nice black matte painted finish on aluminum parts (I'm thinking accessory rails, stocks, mounts, etc).?

I know of anodizing (not sure I want to setup that bath of chemicals at home), and powder-coating (from what I've seen, this is a thick shiny coat and not a thin matte one). Is the method to achieving this simply using a black spray paint? hvlp? other?

here's an example of the finis I'm after:


Thanks in advance

 

[DMS]

I think you want anodizing. You can always have it sent out if you don't want large quantities of sulfuric acid in your garage (I'm with you there). Not sure of the cost; I have been considering myself for some parts I am working on, but haven't been able to find straightforward info on pricing.

 

[upTheHill]

I use this
http://www.lauerweaponry.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=category.display&category_id=794

put the part in a bead blaster using glass beads, clean clean clean
HVLP sprayer, using less harddener for a more matte finish, more hardener for a gloss finish.
and bake in a toaster oven at 250 for 15 minutes,
letting it cure for another week will give a really durable finish.
the duracoat goes on very thin.

 

[Pitchfire]

You can paint it with non-reflective flat black spray paint and it will be cheap and look fairly good and be cheap and easy to touch up (which you will have to do constantly if it get much wear at all).

You want to anodize it if you can, but why not paint it for now and see. It should be easy enough to strip later if you don't care for it.

 

[PurpLev]

Thanks for the responses guys. some good leads to put into thought

 

[Zanodize]

I run a small-scale anodizing shop and can do what you need done matte black. If you wanting just a one off job done it will be way cheaper to send it off then try and set-up your own anodizing line. All aluminum parts on guns are anodized because of tight thickness tolerances. Spray paint and PowderCoat add too thick of a coating compared to anodizing. If interested or have any questions about anodizing don't hesitate to ask me.

 

[PurpLev]

I run a small-scale anodizing shop and can do what you need done matte black. If you wanting just a one off job done it will be way cheaper to send it off then try and set-up your own anodizing line. All aluminum parts on guns are anodized because of tight thickness tolerances. Spray paint and PowderCoat add too thick of a coating compared to anodizing. If interested or have any questions about anodizing don't hesitate to ask me.

That's what I was thinking (added thickness issue). I guess anodizing is in the cards for me in the future. right now I may just want to do a few one-offs, but long term I'm thinking of possibilities for larger quantities.

 

[Tom Griffin]

I've used Nazdar screen process ink before with good results. Being ink, it is very low in solids so it doesn't build up on the part as much as paint, and once baked it is hard as nails. To get a matte finish, I heated the parts in an oven and sprayed the ink on while they were still hot, then placed them back in the oven to finish curing.

Check out the Nazdar site for more info, I think the 59000 series was what I used.

Tom

 

[Alan Douglas]

Birchwood-Casey used to sell "Alumi-Black" in small quantities. It looked like anodizing but wasn't as corrosion-resistant.

 

[PurpLev]

Thanks for pointing out the alternatives and pros/cons. I'll have to do some homework comparing environment setup, costs, and easy of process for all above suggestions, and what could be a viable short term or long term solution.

thanks everyone. keep em coming if you have more.