Letter 30534

Removing 'grease' residue from non-anodized bore  

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Hi,

I got some parts back from a local anodizing company. Some parts have a dark residue I think it was left on because it was an oil or grease of some sort its now very hard.

Wondering how can I remove this material? It seems to have some thickness like .005 to .010. It's become a solid from the anodizing process. It's a bore of the part anodizing is not needed there but a cylinder slides inside it and need to remove it. Any chemicals I can use to remove it? My anodizer just says it must be grease and not sure how to remove it?

I asked should this not have been removed in the cleaning process he said no.

Ryan Hay
anodizing removing residue - Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

I understand your desire for a simple answer, Mr. Hay, but if we don't know what it is or how it got there, we're not liable to be able to tell you how to remove it. If the bore is not anodized, it was most likely plugged for the process, so I'm not sure if I understand how anodizing the item made this stuff in the bore "become a solid".

It sounds like the anodizer plugged the hole before cleaning. That is not good news but it is not uncommon in these days of haz mat disposal costs when a specific agreement to clean the bores is not in place.

Ted Mooney, P.E.  finishing.com Brick, New Jersey

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