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Post by perkins17 on Jul 31, 2023 9:28:25 GMT -5
Frick. @azrockgeek QuailRiver Rockoonz perkins17 Can anyone confirm if the poly arbor is cast aluminum? I'm reaching out to professional anodizers and apparently the results suck for cast parts because "the porosity as well as the higher concentrations of silicon in the alloy, will produce a finish which is loose, powdery, full of dots and will be mostly grey, with a hint of whatever color it was dyed in." Nooo. Looks like I'm back to powder coating unless the arbor is an alloy Can confirm it is cast aluminum. Sorry to hear that.
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Post by perkins17 on Jul 31, 2023 9:29:48 GMT -5
Powder coating is the way I think is best.
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AzRockGeek
has rocks in the head
Member since September 2016
Posts: 635
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Post by AzRockGeek on Jul 31, 2023 9:55:07 GMT -5
Idk why I can't tag you bro Definitely cast aluminum. I would powder coat it or rattle can. You are having difficulties tagging me because I changed my sign up user name, if you hover over it with a mouse, you will see my sign up name 'heber '. A little mountain town in AZ where I have a summer place to escape the heat.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,622
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Post by QuailRiver on Jul 31, 2023 13:54:26 GMT -5
I believe that my Poly Arbor D-14 and D-4 housings are cast aluminum. But the Poly Arbor line was made for over forty years. And by more than one producer. So I couldn't say for sure that they all were aluminum. Here is a scan of a Poly Arbor (Pasadena, CA) ad from a 1949 machine trade magazine where the description just says "Heavy Casting". My Poly Arbors were probably made in the early to mid 1970s in Monrovia, CA. And here is a Poly Arbor ad from a 1980 magazine after Raytech (Stafford Springs, CT) bought out the Poly Arbor line and began producing them in Connecticut. My D-14 appears to have a blue "hammered aluminum" paint finish. Hammered Aluminum paint is still available in aerosol cans. And it's been a few years since I checked but at that time it was available in the color similar to the finish on Poly Arbor and Raytech equipment. So if I were restoring a Poly Arbor housing I would be inclined to just strip off the old finish and then coat it with a "hammered" finish paint. That would be much less expensive than powder coating or anodizing and if someone wanted to restore the finish again in 30 or 40 years it will be much easier for them to redo.
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,622
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Post by QuailRiver on Jul 31, 2023 17:42:22 GMT -5
I believe that my Poly Arbor D-14 and D-4 housings are cast aluminum. But the Poly Arbor line was made for over forty years. And by more than one producer. So I couldn't say for sure that they all were aluminum. Here is a scan of a Poly Arbor (Pasadena, CA) ad from a 1949 machine trade magazine where the description just says "Heavy Casting". My Poly Arbors were probably made in the early to mid 1970s in Monrovia, CA. And here is a Poly Arbor ad from a 1980 magazine after Raytech (Stafford Springs, CT) bought out the Poly Arbor line and began producing them in Connecticut. My D-14 appears to have a blue "hammered aluminum" paint finish. Hammered Aluminum paint is still available in aerosol cans. And it's been a few years since I checked but at that time it was available in the color similar to the finish on Poly Arbor and Raytech equipment. So if I were restoring a Poly Arbor housing I would be inclined to just strip off the old finish and then coat it with a "hammered" finish paint. That would be much less expensive than powder coating or anodizing and if someone wanted to restore the finish again in 30 or 40 years it will be much easier for them to redo. Those are very cool old ads. Mine is also made in Monrovia. You make a good point about a re-doable finish. I'm just hoping that I'm not the one having to redo it a few years from now if the spray paint doesn't like the wet, gritty environment. As long has the new paint has a good clean surface to adhere to then it should last a long time. Many of the older cabbing machines were painted and you can still find machines decades old that still have their original paint. Especially the aluminum ones that were painted like the B&I Gem Makers, Beacon Star and U.S. made Highland Park machines. Some of the older painted steel machines like the later Star Diamond models, and the earlier pre-stainless Lortones didn't hold up as well because the steel rusted. But most of the painted aluminum ones have done fine under normal comnditions.
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Post by Rockoonz on Jul 31, 2023 22:06:35 GMT -5
Trick for rattle can painting stripped clean aluminium is either using an etching primer designed for aluminum, or media blasting, wiping with a clean acetone rag, and getting the paint on as quick as possible. Aluminum begins to oxidize immediately when exposed to air and paint won't stick to the oxides if it is allowed to build up. When I painted inserts for rubber overmolding the process was batches small enough to complete in 30 minutes.
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Post by Rockoonz on Aug 1, 2023 9:25:58 GMT -5
@hefty I learned about the etching primer from an auto body shop doing a repaint on a car I had with an aluminum hood. I have never primed the aluminum pieces I painted, just got the paint on them immediately after glass bead blasting. I was blessed for 30 plus years to work in a place with 2 blasting cabinets, both glass and walnut shell media, and a 8' wide paint booth right next to it, and employers who allowed me to use them off the clock. All that said, if you have access to powder coating I think it's better, but I didn't have access except for a few months when I had a side job overseeing a share shop.
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