Metal Finishing Information Needed

I am a retired person who works part time as an airsmith at a paintball field. In looking at a second career, I believe I would like to set up a business to anodize paintball guns with splash coatings and graphics. Where could information on learning to anodize this type of metal be found and approximately how much would it cost to equip a shop to do this type of work.

Doing any anodizing at all involves you in a rather substantial business, involving many vats of toxic chemicals, and the need for EPA licensing of your waste water and manifested wastes for landfill. To add splash anodizing, which involves some closely held trade secrets, increases the scope of the project. In other words, it's not going to be a part-time job, and if you plan it to be, you will be miserable rather than happy. I'd suggest getting a couple of our "must have" books and, after leafing through them, seeing if the prospect still interests you.

Ted Mooney, P.E.
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey