REMOVING ANODIZED COLOR WITH MULTI-ETCH

Titanium

In the photo above, after anodizing, the left half and top of this piece were covered with tape. The whole piece was then dipped in Multi-Etch to remove the color on the right half.

Removing color with Multi-Etch works much faster when the Multi-Etch is heated 150–160°F.

If you simply went past the target color you can dip the piece in heated Multi-Etch and it will work backward through the colors. Be sure to rinse as soon as you see the color you want.

If the color is uneven and you want to start over, etch time will be longer than when you etched the raw metal. Just keep etching until the color disappears.

Etch times for erasing high voltage colors will be longer than erasing low voltage colors.



For regular strength Multi-Etch heated to 150-160ºF, removing high voltage colors will take from 30 seconds to 2 minutes. See [etch rate table for titanium] for rate of color removal by type of titanium alloy.

For double strength room temperature Multi-Etch (that has previously been heated to 150–160°F one time), erasing high voltage colors will take 6–40 minutes depending on the titanium grade (see the titanium etch rates page for specific times). The time will be shorter when etching in unused double-strength solution that is at least several months old.

Niobium

In Multi-Etch heated to 150–160°F, erasing high voltage colors will take about 4.5 minutes for regular strength and about 3.5 minutes for heated double strength. See the niobium etch rates page for details.



Room temperature Multi-Etch, even if it has been heated one time, will take days to remove color from niobium.

Tantalum

In Multi-Etch heated 150–160°F erasing high voltage colors will take about an hour in double strength solution. See the tantalum etch rates page for details.

Zirconium

In Multi-Etch heated 150–160°F erasing high voltage colors will take about 3 minutes in double strength solution. See the zirconium etch rates page for details.