I was wondering how many different shades of colors are possible in anodization, is it like Pantone where there’s hundreds and hundreds of different colors or are some colors not possible to replicate with anodization?
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I think it literally is Pantone? I could be wrong though.
Any time I’ve ever “helped” pick which color a run should be, it always just takes me to the Pantone color options
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White anodizing is generally not possible because white dye molecules don’t fit in the surface cavities of anodized aluminum. I heard there’s a more complex anodization process that works with white, but I’m not sure how it works.
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Oh wow. Thats really interesting, so like any color on the Pantone color list could be used with anodization?
I think some take better than others? I’m no expert. I imagine someone like @MarkD or @G2_Jake could answer that question a lot better.
Deep wine reds/purples don’t work in either.
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I don’t have a great way to explain anodizing on a forum.
You can pick a Pantone to help describe a color you want but there’s only so many dyes available. And even the same dye will yield different colors on different batches.
The Anodizer is using their judgment to try and get to that color you asked for. Length of time in the ano bath, temperature, the parts finish, parts surface area are all variables that come into play as well.
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Ahhh. I wondered how that worked. I figured it couldn’t be as simple as just picking pantones or there would be way more sick colorways out there or at least more variation. Thanks for the expertise, bossman!
Anodizing colors are more art than science. Dyes come in a massive range of colors, but how they are mixed, their exact ratios, the surface they’re going on to, the quality of the chemical mixes used, the quality of the oxide layer, the weather forecast 2 weeks before, and how many days your UPS guy has gone without sleep all seem to make a difference in final results.
In practice even matching the exact same color between batches is nearly impossible. The rule is generally “if you want them to match, anodize them at the same time”.
You can certainly use pantone or any color guide to give them something to shoot for, but don’t expect it to be accurate without a ton of skill and a good bit of luck.
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I have a few nice purples. Is there something different that needs to be done?