I had my own personal anodizing set up in my basement, so ill give you a little bit of the process I used.
First I must say, Caswell is a awesome place to get supplies.
_______________________________________________
Anyways, the striping process involved first cleaning the part very well and removing any non-aluminum parts. So all your bolts/nuts, seals, o-rings, and springs. Next (unsure of the time you keep the part in the tank) but you dip the part into a Lye solution. You can buy this as Red Devil drain cleaner. This will literally eat away the finish. But be careful, dunked in the tank for too long will lead to pitting and possible part disintegration (it would take a long time, but it could happen). You just want to keep it in there long enough for the hardened anodizing surface to be effected.
After this bath rinse the part off thoroughly and get ready for the actual anodizing process. Wrap or hang the part from wire (i used some aluminum welding sticks my dad took from work) and hang from a cross bar in the tank. Set up your anode and cathode from the acid tank and hook up your leads. Depending on part size and HCl:water ratio you will keep the part in the actual anodizing tank for given time (usually 1-1.5 hours). Sit back and watch the bubbles. Note*: Do not submerge anything that is not aluminum, I threaded a steel bolt to hang a part from once and the acid ate right through the bolt while it was in the tank.
Next step is coloring. Have your dye dip ready and at the right temperature (I think it was somewhere around 140F). Rinse the part with COLD water and dip into the dye tank. After simmering in the dye for the amount of time (longer the darker... to a point) time to cure. You could steam bath the part or boil the part. I boiled because I never had a big enough pot for steaming. All you need to do now is to rinse the part off with cold water and enjoy.
_________________________________________
This process was done on 6061 aluminum parts that I had made on the bridgeport or the lathe. I know you can use it on different series of Al but you probably have to use different times or ratios to get the desired look. If you have a little bit of space and money to try it out, and some old pots that mom or the wife won't kill you for using, it is a great little skill to have and an awesome tool to keep your things looking fresh. Id say the most expensive thing is the dye, if you already have a manual battery charger. But even if you are looking to harden your aluminum surfaces with anodizing you can always leave it "clear".
