This might be useful... (or it might be common knowledge...)
Someone here (or perhaps it was another forum) told me about Alodining parts in a ziplock bag. You put just a small amount of Alodine in the bag with a part or two and slosh it around over the parts being treated. It works very well. The problem is that gallon ziplocks are too small to fit most of parts.
On Saturday a family member came up with the idea of using a length of heat-sealable vacuum food storage bag for the longer parts. The bag comes in a continuous roll (21ft long) nine or eleven inches wide, which you normally seal on both ends with a heat/vacuum sealer.
In my case I sealed one end, added a pint or so of Alodine, and slid the spars and other long parts in one at a time. I just folded up the open end of the bag and sloshed the alodine up and down the length of the part. The result was a nice even application that was very "hands off". Even though I sealed only one end, no alodine exited the bag...just rolling up the end was enough to keep the splashes contained. The bag has a textured side that forms capilaries when pressed against a flat surface (to allow the air to be drawn out when evacuating) which help wet the web of the spar if you put the part in correctly, and you can roll a wave of alodine along the length of the spar by rocking and shaking the bag.
I thought it was cool. No mess, no waste, no open tubs, no smell. Once I got rolling it took less than 3 minutes to do each part.
The sealer and bags are from Tila, purchased at Costco, and also great for preventing freezer burn.
Someone here (or perhaps it was another forum) told me about Alodining parts in a ziplock bag. You put just a small amount of Alodine in the bag with a part or two and slosh it around over the parts being treated. It works very well. The problem is that gallon ziplocks are too small to fit most of parts.
On Saturday a family member came up with the idea of using a length of heat-sealable vacuum food storage bag for the longer parts. The bag comes in a continuous roll (21ft long) nine or eleven inches wide, which you normally seal on both ends with a heat/vacuum sealer.
In my case I sealed one end, added a pint or so of Alodine, and slid the spars and other long parts in one at a time. I just folded up the open end of the bag and sloshed the alodine up and down the length of the part. The result was a nice even application that was very "hands off". Even though I sealed only one end, no alodine exited the bag...just rolling up the end was enough to keep the splashes contained. The bag has a textured side that forms capilaries when pressed against a flat surface (to allow the air to be drawn out when evacuating) which help wet the web of the spar if you put the part in correctly, and you can roll a wave of alodine along the length of the spar by rocking and shaking the bag.
I thought it was cool. No mess, no waste, no open tubs, no smell. Once I got rolling it took less than 3 minutes to do each part.
The sealer and bags are from Tila, purchased at Costco, and also great for preventing freezer burn.
