Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Powdercoating/Anoziding a MBP

Astroboy907

Astroboy907

macrumors 65816
Original poster
May 6, 2012
1,387
15
Spaceball One
Well, thats it. My trusty computer is finally starting to give out the count... Its an Early 2009, and the back panel has started to fall off, half the screws are stripped on it, my hinge had to be superglued to keep working, and the blasted headphone jack keeps on going out for no apparent reason, and takes a restart to get it working again.

So I'm thinking about just doing a lot of the necessary upgrades and rebuilding that I need to do (reapply thermal paste, replace panels and possibly get a Blu-Ray drive). I was going to buy some cheap replacement panels on eBay or somewhere, but the thing is, I *really* want to have the computer anodized in some color. Probably matte black for the panels and as close as I can get to electric blue (or teal or light green) for the chassis. However, I'm not sure how to do this. I messed around some with anodizing using battery acid and RIT dye, but have so far not been able to get the dye to hold when sealing.

Anyways, if I am going to anodize this myself I'm going to need some professional stuff (dye, sealant, etc), as well as some information, it would be greatly appreciated.

What I want to know...
Macbook body aluminum type (6061, what is it?)
Does anyone here do anodizing for themselves? If so, could you help me decide whether I could do this at home (preferred), or if I need to go to a professional. I'd like to do it as cheaply as possible but am willing to spend a few $$ if its necessary.

Apart from that, what are your guys opinions on this? Just to let you know, I totally understand what I am getting myself into. I've rebuilt my MacBook more than once, I understand it takes time and skill to get everything together. But now is a great time to do this for me, its summer, no school, the adhesive on my replacement glass finally gave out so it would be ridiculously easy to get my panels off... I'm not stupid. I just really want a nice looking macbook. I don't care if it scratches and looks like heck after 6 months, it will still be decent looking to me!
 
Last edited:
Anodizing is not something you can do at home. It requires passing an electrical current through the metal while in an acid solution. Nasty chemicals and vapors.
 
glenthompson said:
Anodizing is not something you can do at home. It requires passing an electrical current through the metal while in an acid solution. Nasty chemicals and vapors.
Click to expand...

You can do it home. I can't cause I'd kill myself, but they sell anodizing kits for the house. Scares the hell out of me though.
 
falconeight said:
You can do it home. I can't cause I'd kill myself, but they sell anodizing kits for the house. Scares the hell out of me though.
Click to expand...

You are correct but the Caswell kit off Amazon costs $460 and doesn't include the acid or dyes. It says you need one gallon of battery acid.

Not exactly a cost effective solution for reviving an old MacBook.
 
glenthompson said:
You are correct but the Caswell kit off Amazon costs $460 and doesn't include the acid or dyes. It says you need one gallon of battery acid.

Not exactly a cost effective solution for reviving an old MacBook.
Click to expand...

Im not trying to advocate this dangerous process. I am just saying it can be done. I watched a youtube video and anything that involves acid, water, electricity, wires, dies, and boiling is crazy.
 
It's like any tool - take appropriate safety measures.

A screwdriver can kill you, as could a radial arm saw, oxy-acetylene torch, hammer forging, sandcasting, etc.
 
glenthompson said:
Anodizing is not something you can do at home. It requires passing an electrical current through the metal while in an acid solution. Nasty chemicals and vapors.
Click to expand...

I actually bought a lot of the stuff needed for home anodizing- battery acid, wiring, variable current power supply. I've done a couple test runs on scrap aluminum and can get a clear finish, but my dyeing needs improving (which of course i will work on, I believe I need to get a better sealer than boiling water)

To be honest, the chemicals scare the crap out of me, but I am taking pretty good precautions (chemical gloves, face mask, thicker clothing, closed toed shoes and whatnot)

The chemicals are nasty, the vapors are horrible ("One breath and you'll never do it again", quote from a local guy who does at home stuff. I've been lucky enough not to breath it in yet :D)

Anyways, i think if I got good enough with the dye and deox/desmut (to clean it), then I'd have a pretty decent chance at getting it to work. If it doesn't I'd just be stuck with my old crappy chassis and panels...

What I want to do also is take some black anodized aluminum (aluminium? Brits...) and get it cut out for a screen bezel (like a macbook air). It would reduce some glare on the screen. I'd never be able to touch the screen again, but whatever.
 
Doward said:
It's like any tool - take appropriate safety measures.

A screwdriver can kill you, as could a radial arm saw, oxy-acetylene torch, hammer forging, sandcasting, etc.
Click to expand...
Stop it your making me feel unsafe sitting on my chair watching tv.
 
astroboy907 said:
Tv. Tv is the third largest cause of deaths behind freak radioactive spider accidents and death by chocolate.
Just thought it best to let you know :D
Click to expand...

Does chocolate really kill you? That would suck cause I ate some chocolate covered raisins last week.
 
Why not just find a machine shop in your area that does anodizing? Motorcyclists and car enthusiasts get parts anodized all the time, it's a pretty common service.
 
EricT43 said:
Why not just find a machine shop in your area that does anodizing? Motorcyclists and car enthusiasts get parts anodized all the time, it's a pretty common service.
Click to expand...

I`d say this tbh.
You`re clearly comfortable with stripping and rebuilding the machine so I`d just strip it all down to just the chassis and send that away for anodizing.

Sounds like a LOT of hassle/risk anodizing at home...
 
  • Like
Reactions: roblove1127
glenthompson said:
You are correct but the Caswell kit off Amazon costs $460 and doesn't include the acid or dyes. It says you need one gallon of battery acid.

Not exactly a cost effective solution for reviving an old MacBook.
Click to expand...

And I would say good luck to the OP if he wants to try obtaining that much battery acid lol.
 
You guys make anodizing sound like cooking meth. I have anodized many purple lower receivers and KAC forearms in my day. Just YouTube or join a few gun forums. Plenty of easy/cheap how to's.
 
sonicrobby said:
I have no advice on how to do it, but Im sure most of us would like to see pictures of your progress once you get into it :]
Click to expand...

I'll look into seeing how much it would be to have it commercially done (as far as I know no one local would do it, its a small town)

If it is ridiculously expensive I would try to see if I could get good enough to do it at home.

Lol but then I would have to decide what COLOR to do! I like the black/blue look but there are so many other colors. Maybe teal. Too bad no one can anodize white... Teal and white would look boss.
 
astroboy907 said:
I'll look into seeing how much it would be to have it commercially done (as far as I know no one local would do it, its a small town)

If it is ridiculously expensive I would try to see if I could get good enough to do it at home.

Lol but then I would have to decide what COLOR to do! I like the black/blue look but there are so many other colors. Maybe teal. Too bad no one can anodize white... Teal and white would look boss.
Click to expand...

Another issue with certain colors may be that the final result might not come out exactly the way you had envisioned...? I had a buddy anodize something, he wanted it to be bling gold and it came out more orangish IIRC.
 
Just checking in to say best of luck!

I think this is an awesome project, and I hope you decide to do it yourself. I assume that since you've never done this procedure before yet seriously consider it, having a fully operational machine post-op isn't of vital importance to you. In that case, you've got little to lose, and a pretty ********** ballin' machine to gain.

I love the attitude, and really hope the results turn out good.

Keep us posted!! (with pics of course)
 
You want blue... FYI, blue and red are both notoriously prone to color fade / bleeding. Not sure exactly why, but even pro shops have terrible yields with those colors. I can't tell you how many expensive fixtures faded to the point you thought they spent the past 75 years outside in the sun (literally months after delivery). So just a heads up with that part.

Another route: Powder coating, robust, easier to DIY, likely far cheaper whether it be DIY or shopped out.

If you're in/near NH, I've got access to some equipment. :)
 
I'd really like to do this but it might stay on the back burner for a while, or until I can get new panels. I'd of course like to be getting completely, brand new stuff but that would probably cost more than I paid for the computer in the first place.

There is one auction on ebay right now that is the same model computer for about $50, complete with scratches and dents. But it might be the /cheapest/ solution.

Power coating /might/ be the way to go. Seems like a good solution, and it is cheap, but I don't know how long the results will last. I've heard things about powder coating wearing out. And with wrists/palms on and near the keyboard it would probably wear out first there..
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back