Quoted: I have only used a few mayonase jars full of the sulfuric. It is diluted to about 30% in the tub I have. I thought drain cleaners were strong bases, like Lye? I am on a septic system so anything I pour down the drain is going to end up in my yard
Anyway I have added about 14 lbs of baking soda so far. The rest of the acid is still virign and in the original container so that I am going to drive back into town. The place I bought it from will accept it.
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Good thing you didn't try to anodize at 30%. Even professionals only use about 10% concentrations.
Most home use drain cleaners are bases, however, there are cleaners labelled "professional strength" that are in fact diluted sulfuric. You can find them at Home Depot, etc. You can usually tell as not only are they in a thick plastic bottle, but they are also wrapped in a thick, sealed, plastic bag.
I'm glad they are taking it back. It makes the whole situation go away, which is the easiest way to handle it. As for the stuff in the tub, just keep diluting it and don't be afraid to dump it down the drain once you get it to the point that it won't eat thru the pipes. Diluted sulfuric isn't considered a hazardous substance in the amounts you are dealing with.
As for the hardcoat stuff, fibergeek explained most of it. Get a explanation of what your anodizer calls hardcoat. There is no real way to tell, but here are some definitions for you;
Type - II: Less than 25.4 microns thick. Easy to dye.
Type - III: Greater than 25.4 microns thick. Difficult to dye without using hazardous anodizing and dyeing additives. A higher density of anodizing cells which can only be measured using an electron microscope or by chemically removing the coating and determining the weight of the coating per sq. inch.
Hardcoat: In the anodizing industry, hardcoat use to mean it was Type-III, but it seems to have taken on a new meaning over the years. The new definition means anything more then 25.4 microns thick yet is easy to dye. It is not a true Type-III, but in fact just a thicker Type-II coat. I'm willing to bet that if your lower is going to be dyed, it will be a thick type-II coat rather than a true Type-III, and if he's honest the coating will actually be thicker than 25.4 microns. But, how are you going to tell whether it is 10 microns thick or 26 microns thick? Even the AR manufacturers have adopted this definition rather incurring the expense involved in true Type-III anodizing.
Out of curiosity, how much is he charging you?