Hi Joey
[*]Although you use lead, In other videos people use aluminum as cathodes, is this a short term solution?
Aluminium is actually the industry standard and there's nothing wrong with using it at all. Lead on the other hand can also be used as it won't react with sulphuric acid, just the same as you would find in a car battery for instance. I just happen to have a large roll of lead laying around, and would rather use that than sacrifice a lump of aluminium I could machine elsewhere :wink: you will see no difference in your results by using either.
[*]You mentioned polishing the part on the lathe various times, you ran out of time and it wasn't very clear. how does one polish the part without removing the dye?
by mounting the pieces on a mandrel and using a soft lint free piece of cloth with some plastic polish sold in car stores. no abrasives whatsoever. you only do this once the piece has been sealed in boiling water for 20-25 minutes. then the dye is sealed in. It is natural for a little dye to be on your cloth after polishing, don't worry.
[*]The part preparation on the video starts with sop and water, but It actually started in your shop, Is it safe to say, you sanded to the highest grit available and used a metal polish?
I sand upto around 12,000 using clean micromesh. I
never use polish, as it leaves a waxy film on the piece which will ruin your anodising. sometimes I only sand to 1,200 as I dont want a polished look.
Compare these two pens:
Both of these have been anodised and dyed and cleaned exactly the same way. the only difference is one was polished to a high shine by sanding upto 12,000 before anodising, and the matte one took a bath in caustic soda for a few minutes so that the aluminium was very matte in appearance before anodising (Caution: fumes are nasty, and it will dissolve threads!)