Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

A plating works, I should think. My next door neighbour is involved with
one, and they have it. They also do anodising, and have all sorts of people
coming in off the street to have little jobs done, and often, they are able
to chuck it in with a commercial job, so payment is a few quid for the tea
money jar. If you have such a works anywhere nearby, might be worth you
giving them a bell, just to ask ... ??

Arfa

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?


You could try any big builders merchants and look at drain cleaners. Some
are sulphuric acid others sodium hydroxide.

Anodising is fiddly. Unless you really want to d-i-y or you have a lot to
do or an odd colour it may be worth just asking a local anodiser. I had all
the parts for a microscope black anodised by a local works for £10 - less
than it would have cost me to set up and do it myself.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

On 16 Jul, 09:24, wrote:

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid.

Liquid drain cleaner. The acidic ones for unblocking drains are conc.
(96%) sulphuric. Just check that it's not either alkaline / basic
sodium hydroxide, and that it's not a limescale shifter based on
sulphamic or formic acids. Mine (for electroplating) costs me about
£6 / litre and is available from the local hardware shop. It's not
hard to find.

Aluminium is a faff to anodise and you might prefer to start with
titanium, which is _far_ easier. Use Pepsi as an electrolyte and a
variac (with rectification), or else a variable bench PSU that goes to
fairly high output voltages.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Thanks for your replies. I'll try the drain cleaner approach.

The closest anodising firm to me is about 15 miles away, and the one
time I did go to them they made a mess of one of my parts, and lost
another, so I'm not going back there. And yes, titanium may be easier
to anodise, but not to machine in the first place!

thanks,

dan.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

"Andy Dingley" wrote in message
...
On 16 Jul, 09:24, wrote:

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid.

Liquid drain cleaner. The acidic ones for unblocking drains are conc.
(96%) sulphuric. Just check that it's not either alkaline / basic
sodium hydroxide, and that it's not a limescale shifter based on
sulphamic or formic acids. Mine (for electroplating) costs me about
£6 / litre and is available from the local hardware shop. It's not
hard to find.

Aluminium is a faff to anodise and you might prefer to start with
titanium, which is _far_ easier. Use Pepsi as an electrolyte and a
variac (with rectification), or else a variable bench PSU that goes to
fairly high output voltages.

A bit vague on the details as it was some years ago that I used to maintain
the baths on an anodising plant, but you may find that it is the current
that defeats you. You have to have the requisite amount of amps per square
metre of surface to be anodised. At home, I could only manage pieces up to
a few inches with the battery chargers I had to hand. In our baths we had
aluminium girder bus bars that typically took 1500 amp at 12-15 volt. Quite
spectacular when one day I happened to drop an aluminium step ladder across
them!

Also, you might note that the new coating has to be sealed - typically by
boiling in water to make the oxide swell and become less porous. It is this
swelling that seals in the various colours you see in saucepan lids for
example - the dye being added to the sealing water bath. (We also sealed
our printing plates with a chemical solution, but it was nasty stuff, so
boiling water is your best bet. That said, I did some of my motorcycle
parts boiling in candle wax, and they came out quite nice too.) The water
has to be very clean (distilled or deionised) or the coating gets
stained/smeared.

Another thing you should note, is that the colour you get depends on the
alloy. Most 'aluminium' is actually an alloy with magnesium 'Magalloy' (has
a pinkish/bluish tinge), but there is an enormous range of alloys for
different applications. These in turn have different sized crystals
depending on how they were made and heat treated or cast. The anodising
current picks out all the imperfections and crystal boundaries, and the
different alloying metals make oxides of varying colours. Result is, you
never know quite what you are going to get. Sometimes you get a lovely
pattern of big crystals: sometimes you get black (my bike bits came out a
nice stony green/black).

Also, the existing oxide on the metal is best removed first - which we did
by dipping in well agitated caustic soda solution.

Thus there are lots of ways for this to go 'wrong', but all of them produce
interesting results. Just perhaps not what you are after!

S

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote:
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

Hundreds of old car batteries in scrapyards, just take a washing up bowl,
some strong rubber gloves and a bottle and funnel.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

In article ,
Phil L wrote:
Hundreds of old car batteries in scrapyards, just take a washing up
bowl, some strong rubber gloves and a bottle and funnel.

I *think* they have to be emptied these days - not just left lying around
full of acid. Same as other fluids in a car.

--
*What boots up must come down *

Dave Plowman London SW
To e-mail, change noise into sound.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote:

Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

I think that's what the farmers up here use it to spray the potato haulms,
to kill them off. D'you know any farmers? Farm supply companies
might be an alternative.

--
AnneJ

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

"Phil L" wrote in message
om...
wrote:
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

Hundreds of old car batteries in scrapyards, just take a washing up bowl,
some strong rubber gloves and a bottle and funnel.


Trouble is, it's not sulphuric acid but a solution of that and lead
sulphate. Don't know how the lead would affect the anodising process, but
it would make disposal of the used experimental solutions a problematical
issue that you don't want to get into.

S

(PS appols for the confusing joining of Andy Dingley's comment and my added
remark in the other thread branch. Don't know how I managed that!)

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

in 132416 20080716 092409 wrote:
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

When I had a darkroom I used to buy sulphuric acid across the counter in
the local chemist's shop, though I had to sign for it.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

"Arfa Daily" wrote in message
...

wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

A plating works, I should think. My next door neighbour is involved with
one, and they have it. They also do anodising, and have all sorts of
people coming in off the street to have little jobs done, and often, they
are able to chuck it in with a commercial job, so payment is a few quid
for the tea money jar. If you have such a works anywhere nearby, might be
worth you giving them a bell, just to ask ... ??

Arfa

The suppliers I used to use all the time seem to have largely vanished since
I was a lab tech, but here is one:
http://www.reagent.co.uk/sulphuric-acid-ar.html

Looking at their remarks on how this acid can be used, I would say it is
definitely a case of buyer beware. If you were to make for example a
chromic acid solution - this used to be a common anodising and plating
method - you would have the water board round like a shot if even the
tiniest amount got into the drains, and risking some pretty nasty (REALLY)
nasty burns in the process.

Our anodising baths were run at around 15% v/v sulphuric.

S

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

On 16 Jul, 11:29, wrote:
Thanks for your replies. I'll try the drain cleaner approach.

OneShot is one brand to look for - sure as I can be that it's
sulphuric rather than anything else

John

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

Battery acid is only about 33% sulphuric and 67% water. You're better off
buying the 97% proof stuff with a specific gravity of 1.84. You can dilute
that if required.


If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

No end of online suppliers in Google but any local chemical supply or
laboratory equipment supply company should be able to sell you it. Try
yell.com.

Should be about £15 to £18 for 2.5 litres.

http://www.reagent.co.uk/sulphuric-a...-acid-lrg.html
--
Dave Baker

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote:

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid.

Chromic acid used to be the way to do it, sadly the bloody
environmentalists whinge about the toxicity.

You need approximately 15% sulphuric acid (i.e. dilute "battery acid"
50:50 with deionised water). Battery acid i bulk is quite cheap, about
£1 per litre. Your problem is that it's a strong acid and expensive to
transport which bumps up the price for small quantities.

Don't even begin to think of using old battery acid. The concentration
varies and it is contaminated with lead and other gunk which will mess
up your attempts to anodise. You should be able to get new battery acid
at any half-way decent car parts store.

If you haven't already seen it, this site is good.

http://bryanpryor.com/anodizing.php

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Phil L wrote:

Hundreds of old car batteries in scrapyards, just take a washing up bowl,
some strong rubber gloves and a bottle and funnel.

No good for anodising. All the reagents need to be clean and
uncontaminated. Old battery acid contains calcium and lead salts.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
...
wrote:

"sadly the bloody environmentalists whinge about the toxicity."

Sadly, take a look at this reading list for starters:
http://journals.elsevierhealth.com/p...d/MDLN.6744086

Seriously: don't even think about messing with chromium compounds.

S

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Spamlet wrote:

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
...
wrote:

"sadly the bloody environmentalists whinge about the toxicity."

Sadly, take a look at this reading list for starters:

yawn Tell it to someone who isn't a chemist.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Dave Baker wrote:

wrote in message
...
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

Battery acid is only about 33% sulphuric and 67% water. You're better off
buying the 97% proof stuff with a specific gravity of 1.84. You can dilute
that if required.

Bit of a word of caution to the OP about diluting conc sulphuric acid:
the act of hydration causes heat to be liberated - plenty of it. The
WRONG way to do this is to add water to acid, which can result in
almost instantaneous boiling and ejection of water and acid.

The accepted way - in my day - was to slowly add the acid to the
water, with plenty of stirring with e.g. a glass rod. Even so, the
solution will get warm. The OP will need to read up more on this.

Modern precautions would probably include a moon suit, licensed
premises, Building Control notification, Planning Permission,
certificated training, a Part P inspection, Environmental Health
clearance, a trained medical team on standby, a raid by anti-terrorist
police, and Social Services taking away your kids. Only joking.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

On 17 Jul, 00:36, (Steve Firth) wrote:

yawn Tell it to someone who isn't a chemist.

"Environmentalists whinge about the toxicity [of chromium compounds]"

If you call this "whinging", then you ain't much of a chemist. There's
plenty of whinging out there, but caution around chromium isn't
unreasonable, no matter what the valency.


(I've had self-inflicted acute chromium poisoning myself, from plasma-
cutting stainless. I don't recommend it).

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

That said, I did some of my motorcycle
parts boiling in candle wax, and they came out quite nice too.) *

Intriguing. I've not heard of doing that before. Does it give a better
finish than using boiling water?

thanks,

dan.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Andy Dingley wrote:
On 17 Jul, 00:36, (Steve Firth) wrote:

yawn Tell it to someone who isn't a chemist.

"Environmentalists whinge about the toxicity [of chromium compounds]"

If you call this "whinging", then you ain't much of a chemist. There's
plenty of whinging out there, but caution around chromium isn't
unreasonable, no matter what the valency.


(I've had self-inflicted acute chromium poisoning myself, from plasma-
cutting stainless. I don't recommend it).

French polish suppliers usually stock sulphuric

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Andy Dingley wrote:

On 17 Jul, 00:36, (Steve Firth) wrote:

yawn Tell it to someone who isn't a chemist.

"Environmentalists whinge about the toxicity [of chromium compounds]"

If you call this "whinging", then you ain't much of a chemist.

I think you want uk.assorted.trendy.hysterias. It's over there -
somewhere.

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Steve Firth)
saying something like:

Phil L wrote:

Hundreds of old car batteries in scrapyards, just take a washing up bowl,
some strong rubber gloves and a bottle and funnel.

No good for anodising. All the reagents need to be clean and
uncontaminated. Old battery acid contains calcium and lead salts.

snort
Phil L talking ********? Shoorly not.
--
Dave
GS850x2 XS650 SE6a

"It's a moron working with power tools.
How much more suspenseful can you get?"
- House

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

"Steve Firth" wrote in message
.. .
Andy Dingley wrote:

On 17 Jul, 00:36, (Steve Firth) wrote:

yawn Tell it to someone who isn't a chemist.

"Environmentalists whinge about the toxicity [of chromium compounds]"

If you call this "whinging", then you ain't much of a chemist.

I think you want uk.assorted.trendy.hysterias. It's over there -
somewhere.

My old lab assistant thought he was invulnerable too.
He died of cancer.

S

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

wrote:
Hi all,

I want to do some anodising, and I am trying to locate a source of
sulphuric acid. Battery acid would probably be the easiest way to get
hold of it, but all the car part places around me say that they aren't
allowed to stock it any more because it is a restricted substance.
Curiously, despite being restricted, I can still buy it mail order and
have it sent to me through the post (http://www.getgeared.co.uk/
acatalog/Battery_Acid_1_Litre.html)!

If I can I want to avoid the postage charge for mail order (the cost
of the acid is less than the P+P) so does anyone know of any other
place that would stock sulphuric acid?

thanks,

dan.

I bought a box of battery acid last week to fill a couple of dry
batteries I bought for a classic car.

I bought it from SC parts near Gatwick with the batteries, but they also
suggested trying motor bike shops.

They won't supply acid mail order though.

dan

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Dear Mr.Dan,

Greetings. We the VAIKASH EXIMS is the leading exporter of sulphuric acid 98% from India.

For further more, Skype: vaikashexims

Whatsapp, Viber, Wechat : 91 94431 31190

With rgds €“ K.K.Kumar

Where can I buy sulphuric acid?
 

Blimey, I guess if you buy from them its the acid test if they are real or
not. I can see the expression on the face of the customs man now......
Brian

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