开云体育

Hi Evan,

I once had an aluminum panel from an old Dumont scope stripped and then
anodized and I applied Dry Transfer Lettering. It took weeks to do all of
this. I did it to make the scope look more "modern". I was 18 at the time.
The scope was to be a gift for a friend. I was very proud of what I was up
to at the time. I look back on this now and have to laugh. I did show it to
my Tek Field Engineer and he figured out pretty quickly that this I had the
'Scope Bug". That led to an interview and a job offer at Tek followed by a
suggestion that I finish college first.

I, too, have plugins where some *!@#$%* moron used an electric engraving
tool to write deep into the surface of the front panel. I don't think there
is anything that can be done once the extremely hard aluminum oxide surface
film created by the anodizing process has been penetrated. I have concluded,
unfortunately, that there is realistically nothing that can be done. I have
resisted suggestions like Harvey's because it creates far more problems than
it solves. For instance:

* This entire process will be extremely time consuming (and time is money).
* It may not be possible to remove enough aluminum to reach the depth of
penetration of the engraving marks.
* Once you have removed the anodized surface the underlying aluminum is soft
and paint is not as hard as anodizing.
* You will have to replace all of the labels, etc.

It is possible to do your own anodizing. I once anodized the top and bottom
covers I made for my dual Shugart 8" drives that I built for my S100
computer. I did it in my bathtub. It was very tricky getting the entire
covers in the tub and into the anodizing chemicals since they were 17"
across and about 20" deep. But I did it and they looked good when I was
done. Just one of the crazy things I have dome in my life.

Anodizing is a way to increase the natural oxide coating that forms on the
surface of all metals. Anodizing changes the microscopic texture of the
surface and the crystal structure of the metal near the surface. Anodized
aluminum surfaces are harder than aluminum but have low to moderate wear
resistance that can be improved with increasing thickness or by applying
suitable sealing substances. The film of anodized aluminum is a form of
aluminum oxide. Ceramics are also made of aluminum oxide and they are
extremely hard. The surface of anodized aluminum is much stronger and more
adherent than most types of paint and metal plating, but also more brittle.
It is less likely to crack and peel from aging and wear, but more
susceptible to cracking from thermal stress.

Dennis Tillman W7PF