Anodizing with a tie-dye look?

A. Ted,

I think that you will find it more commonly referred to as "splash anodizing". The generalities are somewhat known, but the specific "tricks" are very tightly held secrets. There is at least one patent infringement case in process now.

So:

• We have at least one commercial process that works. But it might be subject to a patent.
• And/or we might have a "trade secret" method which works, but it is closely guarded.
• And/or someone might be infringing on the patent, and the tightly held secret is that he is using the patent out of license, and the patent holder is trying to get the goods on him.
• OR, the patent holder is under the mistaken assumption that his patent is being infringed, but its really not, because someone found another way, but how can he be sure if he doesn't go to court?

I understand, I think.

A. The type of finish you are describing is usually done in multiple steps. Sometimes a pattern is rolled on a clear, unsealed anodized surface. Other times, masking is used; then again, the "splash" patterns are actually painted over a single color anodized surface.

A. You can use any sealant like nail polish or clear polyurethane to cover the area you want to retain. you can layer this and finally when you are finished adding your color coats...bleach out undesired color before adding the next color after sealing...strip off the sealant with mineral spirits [on eBay or Amazon] ...

A. Hopefully I have got the question right, here's my answer. We use the Aluprint screening ink from Clariant. It is possible to spray, silkscreen, tampoprint, drip, etc. to make different patterns on an anodized non sealed surface. In this series of products there are also an ink without color used for masking and reducing the color value of an other color. There are two different types of ink. One resistant to water and one nonresistant. The main difference is that the water resistant type stays the same color when dyed with another water based color.

One other way is to mix anodizing dyes with water and corn starch and boil it to make the dye thicker. This is the low budget way to do it.