I just wanted to ask if anyone here knows how much anodizing typically costs, if those who do it are willing to undertake small jobs, and if there are any recommendations on where to get it done in the vicinity of south OC or within reasonable driving distance from my area. In addition to bike parts, I have an awesome military-style watch with a matte black finish that easily scratches and I am hoping to get that anodized too (if it's even possible for a watch to undergo that process?). Any advice is appreciated.
Most shops will take small jobs, but have a lot charge of about $500-$600. The cost of anodizing has gone up considerably in the past year or so. http://www.precisionanodizingandplating.com/ http://www.electrolurgy.com/processes.php sometimes... if your lucky you can throw your product in with a batch of other stuff that is getting done. If so, you are looking at a minimal charge of under $100. But, that doesn't happen very often.
Reid Metal Finishing in Santa Ana takes ano jobs at a $40 minimum. For that you can get about 10 small parts done or how ever many they can fit on a rack.
Three standard anodize processes to choose from. Then there are the also numerous sealers. Hard anodize with nickel sulfamate is my choice. But I am hard core.
The watch is probably not aluminum so likely not anodizable. I'm sure there is a way to anodize other materials but the typical process is for aluminum only.
Thanks for your responses, guys. I figured anodizing might only be for aluminum and the watch is steel. It's actually a really cheap timepiece but I like it enough to spend a little money to get it refinished. I'm not fussed what process it is if it does the job, providing it's matte black, fairly hardy, and not uber expensive (let's say, around $120.00 or so for the finished job). If you can think of alternative finishes better suited for this purpose (and recommendations on where to get it done), please be sure to let me know.