De-Anodizing Aluminum Media

In this video I wanted to show the process I use to strip the layer of aluminum oxide off of an anodized aluminum handle. Using a chemical called Lye to eat away the layer, given enough time it will dissolve the anodizing and show fresh aluminum again. Then I use a chemical called De Ox/De Smut from Caswell Plating to further clean the aluminum of all the "smut" caused from the Lye. Lastly I tumbled them again to smooth out the finish. Sometimes you will want to do some sort of surface finish after stripping aluminum, because on previously smooth or polished surfaces it looks really funny if you don't. So either polish, beadblast, sand, or tumble. On matte surfaces like these handles it's not as important, but I tumbled them anyways.