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Is there an alternative to Bright Dip Anodizing that is as good as but, more environmentally friendly?

June 14, 2010

Hello,

My company has made items from Aluminum that has been Bright Dip Anodized, for over 21 years. I've utilized information on finishing.com for some time now in regards to personal hobbies and to help me find some new companies that also Bright Dip because the company I worked with for over 16 years closed up shop. I find your site very useful. Thank you.

Today I saw a post about how bad Bright Dip really is to the people who work with it and to the environment. I wish I'd have known 21 years ago. I wouldn't have waited until now to ask the question.

Is there a finishing process for Aluminum that gives the bright vibrant deep colors and longevity that Bright Dip provides but, that has less of a negative impact on the environment?

As recently as last year I've seen some of the items we made 18 - 20 years ago and they are warn as jewelry often, they still look as good as the day they were made. The fact the product we produced makes me very happy but, the fact they were made with a process that has such a negative impact on the environment does not make me feel good about my choices. I'd like to start looking into other options to reduce the negative impact in the future.

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I'd even be content with one that didn't have the longevity, something that didn't last over 20 years would probably get me a few more repeat customers in the future. "laughing", after all there are few products that last longer than a generation.

Thank you so much!

Robbie

Robbie Raaf
Product designer, hobbyist - Sacramento, California, USA

Try USA patent office webpages -- there you can find many old patents on chemical oxidation of aluminum (ferric citrate [affil links], sodium aluminate, or potassium permanganate [on eBay or Amazon] based processes are much less toxic than sulfuric acid based anodizing). Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
June 20, 2010

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