Aluminum anodizing etch, make silver gold for lettering

[Gary Gilbert]

I have panels that are being laser etched through black anodized aluminum.

To match some surrounding material, the customer has inquired if there is a way to get the silver lettering gold - not necessarily metalic, but obviously a gold color.

Does anyone have a recommendation of a material (CerMark type of thing?) that could then be applied to make the aluminum turn out gold?

Maybe I could mask it and then "stain" the aluminum gold somehow?

The panels are very durable and sharp looking - and the lettering is just laser etched away.

Just a new one to me. Paint or screening is not preferred by this customer. (I asked about this already).

Any thoughts?

Thank you and regards,

Gary

[Gary Hair]

How about masking and painting or Rub-n-buff? Indoors vs outdoors would dictate what you could use, but there are several options I could think of.

[Joe Pelonio]

Gary,

I'm doing a bunch of anodized black aluminum too. The problem is that the cermark material requires bare metal, and when you engrave what you are doing is more like "bleaching" the anodizing. Unless you go deep enough to hit bare metal the cermark won't stick, of course it's not available in gold
anyway.

Thermark has a yellow, and claim that there's will stick to anodized aluminum, but still no gold.

[David Morrow]

My understanding of the anodizing process is that if you reanodize at a lower power setting, the new, bare aluminum will anodize without disturbing the previously anodized area. You may then be able to dye and seal the new area.

Another possibility is gold leaf.