Anyone Ever Hard Chrome An Aluminum Alloy Frame?

OK, not a handgun, but while on the subject of re-anodizing, is it possible/practical?

I have a Ruger 10-22 that I purchased in 1964 which is overall in near exc. condition with the exception of the black anodizing on the aluminum receiver, which is quite worn off. Would it be possible/practical to have it re-anodized black? I'd love to restore the gun as it has some sentimental value.
 
I would say that hard chrome is a better finish than anodizing.

There are companies that re-anodize firearms. Just do a search for "firearm anodizing."
 
There is a wide range of steel alloys. It MIGHT be as hard as some of the softer steels. It certainly is nowhere close to as hard as super duplex or even most gun steels.
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How hard does it need to be to not have hard chrome flake off?
 
Hardness in itself has nothing to do with hard chrome flaking.
DENTING does. As long as you don't seriously dent an aluminum frame HC would be fine.
 
We sent several 1911 Commanders and Officers frames to the anodizer, and they came out fine. Some things to be aware of though; every time a part gets re anodized it loses tiny amount of aluminum to the srip tank. Things like pin holes can get looser- threaded holes can be easier to strip.
 
Some things to be aware of though; every time a part gets re anodized it loses tiny amount of aluminum to the srip tank. Things like pin holes can get looser- threaded holes can be easier to strip.
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Wow! I would think that is more than "a tiny bit" of metal loss.:eek:
 
It varies too, but we even had one Officers ACP reanodized twice at the owners request, and it's still going these days. There's no free lunch.
 
Hard chroming on steel is done with no underplating. Hard chroming aluminum requires an underplate of electroless nickel. Electroless nickel does not require a copper underplate.
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I was thinking about this a bit more and I think it was related to a pitted 1907 Savage I had before. I was considering having it refinished and I believe I was told they would copper plate to fill the pits, nickel flash over that, then hard chrome the top. Maybe that makes more sense. It was some years ago.
I wasn't so hot on the 32 ACP so I sent it to a new owner instead of putting all that money into it.

Good explanation of stripping anodizing. I worked on several anodized aero parts previously. If the anodize needed to be stripped they were almost always scrap and we didn't bother. Only if the tolerances were loose enough we could sand-blast it off did we rework the parts as I remember it. We would usually sandblast then take a skim cut to remove the roughness. A real pain.

Personally, I wouldn't consider stripping anodizing then hard chroming. Type III anodizing is a really nice finish/treatment. I've seen what a thin layer of anodizing does to a carbide end-mill. I prefer anodize for aluminum and nitriding for steel.

Can a gouge in anodizing be 'touched up'?
 
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