# How to partially remove anodization for a splash raw effect
**URL:** https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963
**Category:** Yo-Yo Mods and Maintenance
**Created:** [April 8, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963 "2020-04-08T13:54:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 1:54pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/1 "2020-04-08T13:54:29Z")
> [@Half Swaps](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/half-swaps/317424/42):
>
> how’d you do that?
very simple and fast, I just removed the anodizing in the following way.
**Needed**
Bostik glue or Rubber cement - Pure sodium hydroxide flakes
For your safety, thick, solvent-resistant rubber gloves, protective glasses and an open environment to avoid inhalations as the sodium hydroxide dissolved in water is highly corrosive and can cause dangerous and serious burns to the skin and parts of the body.
**Method**
After cleaning the cups with soap and water and rinsing and drying them, mount them on a threaded rod the size of the axis, at this point drip or splash them with Bostik glue or Rubber cemen waiting for it to dry.
At this point prepare a possibly glass container (like a glass) with water at room temperature and dissolve a spoonful of hydroxide flakes, do it very gently and add the flakes to the water, never the other way round! this is to avoid dangerous splashes, when everything is dissolved (and you will also notice a significant increase in temperature) immerse the cups one at a time … in the unprotected parts the anodizing micropores will open letting the dye come out … everything happens in a few seconds at this point remove them and rinse them with plenty of running water.
Finally, remove the layer of glue and you’re done.
I recommend, maximum attention with sodium hydroxide, it is really dangerous!
The only drawback, between the anodized and raw parts, to feel a very slight step of a few hundredths of a millimeter, this will lead to an imperfect functionality towards the grind-tricks.
Some photos I took at the time:
P.S. this can be a great way to make any unwanted dents “disappear”. 😁
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### Author:  [@fatguysnacks247](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/fatguysnacks247)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 1:58pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/2 "2020-04-08T13:58:19Z")
> [@persson](#):
>
> Needed
safety glasses
when working with these type of chemical reactions, always wear appropriate safety gear (ppe being the buzzword of the moment)
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 2:03pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/3 "2020-04-08T14:03:26Z")
thanks for the important clarification!
I did not know the acronym in English, in Italian it is "DPI (dispositivi di protezione individuale) → PPE (personal protective equipment)
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### Author:  [@fatguysnacks247](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/fatguysnacks247)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 2:04pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/4 "2020-04-08T14:04:21Z")
we are a team, we are here to help each other :wink:
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### Author:  [@Hanker](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hanker)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 2:33pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/5 "2020-04-08T14:33:42Z")
Wow those look great :+1:
Tbh I thought the ano removed on the skyline was due to you playing with it a lot. Didn’t think that the ano was intentionally removed.
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 3:50pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/6 "2020-04-08T15:50:33Z")
No, also because a whole life is not enough to consume an anodization in that way! :wink: 😁
The Skyline was a sort of guinea pig for testing, I chose him precisely because he had some dents that I didn’t like to see.
It was an “evolutionary process”, first I partially decolored it, then I also tried to do “acid washes” always using sodium hydroxide and I must say that the aesthetic result was not bad … but for some reason (perhaps precisely because I really like finger-grinds, I don’t remember) in the end I decided to do decoloring all the catch-zone and polish it in a mirror finish…
This is what happened …
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 8:06pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/7 "2020-04-08T20:06:21Z")
I hope you don’t mind I thought this was _SO FREAKIN COOL_ that it deserved its own topic, so I moved it to one!! Wow!
_forum tech janitor, over and out 📻_
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 8:09pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/8 "2020-04-08T20:09:11Z")
> [@codinghorror](#):
>
> I hope you don’t mind
I thank you for this !!! and I’m very happy!
Besides, I realized that I had gone … quite off-topic :wink:
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### Author:  [@Dust](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Dust)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 8:55pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/9 "2020-04-08T20:55:39Z")
These look great buddy!
What do you do with your chemicals after you are done with the ano stripping?
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### Author:  [@codinghorror](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/codinghorror)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 8:58pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/10 "2020-04-08T20:58:32Z")
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 9:12pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/11 "2020-04-08T21:12:01Z")
> [@Dust](#):
>
> What do you do with your chemicals after you are done with the ano stripping?
my “chemicals” are nothing but:
- dry glue → unsorted waste
- sodium hydroxide → returns sodium (Na) and releases oxygen and hydrogen gas (technically called the dissolution process … the heat that is generated is due to the breakdown of the molecular bonds), this is the chemical formula of this process:
NaOH —\> (Na +) + (OH-)
so remain all natural and inert elements … maybe with traces of yoyo color … which I hope is a natural pigment … but I can’t know.
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### Author:  [@fatguysnacks247](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/fatguysnacks247)
#### Post date: [April 8, 2020, 9:37pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/12 "2020-04-08T21:37:12Z")
thanks @codinghorror!
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### Author:  [@rnsy](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/rnsy)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/13 "2020-04-09T02:40:13Z")
damn, this is so cool. i understand how stripping works, but how did you do that acid wash? did you just splash the sodium hydroxide on in patterns and then got them off before they ‘dissolved’ the ano too much? would love to hear more detail!
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [April 9, 2020, 4:01am UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/14 "2020-04-09T04:01:20Z")
Exactly, I dropped drops of hydroxide solution on the surface and rinsed under running water in 2-4 seconds (time depends on the greater or lesser corrosion).
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### Author:  [@Hanker](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/Hanker)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/15 "2020-04-13T13:34:16Z")
Hahaha you will be surprised to hear that some competitors’ yoyos are played so much the ano is completely gone. I think the one I saw was a 3A player’s first ever unresponsive yoyo that he started 3A on. It’s quite insane.
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### Author:  [@rnsy](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/rnsy)
#### Post date: [April 13, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/16 "2020-04-13T17:47:28Z")
that is really cool. if you were ever to do it in the near future, please video it! i would learn so much from it. have been doing some of my own small ano projects but never got into acid washes!
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2020, 7:21pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/17 "2020-06-05T19:21:33Z")
Sorry, I only now remembered this thing while looking for old things on youtube …
The day I changed the yoyo’s aesthetic at the start of this discussion, I met with Riccardo to show him and… this video was born.
One of the few where I am present …
(the title explains the process :wink:)
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR6TTK-tRlQ)
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### Author:  [@PCaliyoyos](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PCaliyoyos)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2020, 7:22pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/18 "2020-06-05T19:22:57Z")
which one is you? i don’t know what you look like lmao.
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### Author:  [@persson](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/persson)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/19 "2020-06-05T19:27:04Z")
it is not difficult to understand … Riccardo is the one who plays well, I am the worst! 🤣 🤣 🤣 :wink:
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### Author:  [@PCaliyoyos](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/u/PCaliyoyos)
#### Post date: [June 5, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://forums.yoyoexpert.com/t/how-to-partially-remove-anodization-for-a-splash-raw-effect/317963/20 "2020-06-05T19:34:12Z")
you the one _rocking_ the Green Triangles? those were amazing!
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