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I picked up an anodized aluminum call and it sounds fantastic. I had read where people use alcohol to clean them. So I tried that with mine, and let it dry. I went to use it and it did not make any noise. I know you're not supposed to sand those calls, but I found to get any noise from it, I have to aggressively use scotch brite on it. Anyone have any idea what is going on? I dont want to sand it and lose my anodized finish or change the sound

I use a scotch brite on mine, them sometimes wipe with an alcohol pad.

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Use scotchbrite green, then clean with alcohol , as above.   but the aluminum will load up on the striker too. I use 100 abranet to clean all tips
Copper and brass( clean same way) loads up the striker too

What is the difference between anodized and regular aluminum ?

Quote from: MountainPursuit on April 08, 2019, 11:28:54 PM
I picked up an anodized aluminum call and it sounds fantastic. I had read where people use alcohol to clean them. So I tried that with mine, and let it dry. I went to use it and it did not make any noise. I know you're not supposed to sand those calls, but I found to get any noise from it, I have to aggressively use scotch brite on it. Anyone have any idea what is going on? I dont want to sand it and lose my anodized finish or change the sound

I ran into the same problem with using alchohol.

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I have had  the same problem with 90% isopropyl which is supposed to evaporate all the way out. It seems that most anodized calls really respond better to a slight scuffing with a mild abrasive. The Van Cise aluminum I had was super picky when it wanted to play at all until just about all the anodizing was scuffed off.

I have run a Schaffer aluminum that is matte colored but slick and not blasted then anodized and it runs a touch better than the Van Cise. It was already scuffed a tad when I got it. Really a fine line between putting small grooves in it to play more consistent but it is very hard to get rid of should you want to in the future.

Based on the above and hearing the same from a lot of folks I am more of a fan of raw aluminum or blasted aluminum.

Brown scotch brite or really lightly sanding should help.  Rain chalk also helps. 

What % alcohol did you use? I have noticed that if you don't use the highest % alcohol you will have problems

Rain chalk works well.

Quote from: BTH on April 09, 2019, 09:40:56 AM
I have had  the same problem with 90% isopropyl which is supposed to evaporate all the way out. It seems that most anodized calls really respond better to a slight scuffing with a mild abrasive. The Van Cise aluminum I had was super picky when it wanted to play at all until just about all the anodizing was scuffed off.

I have run a Schaffer aluminum that is matte colored but slick and not blasted then anodized and it runs a touch better than the Van Cise. It was already scuffed a tad when I got it. Really a fine line between putting small grooves in it to play more consistent but it is very hard to get rid of should you want to in the future.

Based on the above and hearing the same from a lot of folks I am more of a fan of raw aluminum or blasted aluminum.

Schafer's isn't slick. Bead blasted aluminum

This will hurt any resale but if you don't imo you might as well get rid of it anyway. On anondized I use sandpaper. Call will come alive

Thanks for all the input guys! I did use a high percentage alcohol and wont make that mistake anymore. So I bit the bullet and used some 220 sandpaper followed by a green scotch brite pad. Boy, IT MADE THAT CALL COME ALIVE. I did that on half of the call just where the aluminum is beginning to show. On the other half, I applied just some box chalk followed by a light hit with scotch brite. Both sound a little different and both sound good

I have a Dawkins anodized aluminum that was too slick so I sanded all the finish back to bare aluminum. I have killed several gobblers with this call and I still use it a lot. But the thought of sanding a Dawkins turns a lot of people off.

Some makers of anondized aluminum, make sure it's raw or anondized send theirs already partly or wholly sanded.
Again there seems to be a misconception here, I'm speaking for no one else but Jimmy Schafer stated he uses nothing but bead blasted. Don't sand that.

My call is from a friend of mine who is a custom call maker. Anodized black over glass in a yellow heart pot. I had done nothing but scotch brite until I tried the alcohol. I'm kind of glad it happened now. After a little 220 grit, it made a great call sound even better!

When it comes to aluminum surfaces, the striker tip is half of the equation. Take some 220 grit sandpaper and with the striker tip pointed up, slowly twist the striker in your fingers while constantly flapping the sandpaper downwards. Go all the way around a couple of times but in an evenly fashion. This will remove the aluminum residue build up and allow your striker tip to grip the surface. You can then apply pool cue chalk and it will run like a scalded dog.

Quote from: Bowguy on April 09, 2019, 02:15:47 PM
This will hurt any resale but if you don't imo you might as well get rid of it anyway. On anondized I use sandpaper. Call will come alive

X2 they play so much better. I do not see any advantage of black anodized over regular aluminum. Green anodized grips much better than black in my experience.

Quote from: MDTOM84 on April 09, 2019, 12:32:00 PM
What % alcohol did you use? I have noticed that if you don't use the highest % alcohol you will have problems

Make a lot of sense. I cant remember what I used. I did use the alcohol pads and dont remember having a problem with them.

I wander if acetone would be ok if you just put a little on a paper towel, cotton ball,  or gauze pad and dont hit the glue or finish on the wood. The acetone will make the surface grip better I think.

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Quote from: Bowguy on April 09, 2019, 03:02:02 PM
Some makers of anondized aluminum, make sure it's raw or anondized send theirs already partly or wholly sanded.
Again there seems to be a misconception here, I'm speaking for no one else but Jimmy Schafer stated he uses nothing but bead blasted. Don't sand that.

Jimmy hasn't always used bead blasted. His older alums are slick, a lot of those have that purplish black appearance. His new bead blasted are great and run with total ease, but as far as aluminum calls go some of the older slick ones are some of the best alums I've played or heard.

Quote from: yelpy on April 09, 2019, 09:00:59 PM

Quote from: MDTOM84 on April 09, 2019, 12:32:00 PM
What % alcohol did you use? I have noticed that if you don't use the highest % alcohol you will have problems

Make a lot of sense. I cant remember what I used. I did use the alcohol pads and dont remember having a problem with them.

I wander if acetone would be ok if you just put a little on a paper towel, cotton ball,  or gauze pad and dont hit the glue or finish on the wood. The acetone will make the surface grip better I think.

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I have wondered the same thing about acetone. I bet it would work great

I have a Schaffer  aluminum aluminum sapelle and it sounds great but I do have to constantly baby it ,,like a Zamboni resurfacing the ice between hockey game periods

Quote from: MDTOM84 on April 09, 2019, 09:04:06 PM

Quote from: yelpy on April 09, 2019, 09:00:59 PM

Quote from: MDTOM84 on April 09, 2019, 12:32:00 PM
What % alcohol did you use? I have noticed that if you don't use the highest % alcohol you will have problems

Make a lot of sense. I cant remember what I used. I did use the alcohol pads and dont remember having a problem with them.

I wander if acetone would be ok if you just put a little on a paper towel, cotton ball,  or gauze pad and dont hit the glue or finish on the wood. The acetone will make the surface grip better I think.

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I have wondered the same thing about acetone. I bet it would work great

I might give it a shot on a cheapo green anodized pot I have . Cant hurt to try it.

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I'm glad this subject about anodized came up,,,my draw from mine and hearing others experience is,,
When you get a new or different anodized call,,play it a few times or hunt it a couple times and if it doesn't thrill you or the birds and your iffy on confidence then post it on swapboard,sell it,etc. Because if you decide to keep it for a spell your committed to attack that surface probably beyond resale value in fact it seems like a call where you will end up conditioning the entire surface through wear through.

Sanded mine down to raw aluminium and it works much better.

I have no problem playing mine just using a scotch brite pad. Mine aren't even conditioned to raw aluminum.

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Quote from: BigSlam51 on April 10, 2019, 06:11:15 PM
I have no problem playing mine just using a scotch brite pad. Mine aren't even conditioned to raw aluminum.
d
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Some are more picky than others for sure!

I am playing Chad's calls scuffing it with green scotch brite and they play like a dream, some of the least picky slick aluminum calls I have ever played.

Thanks bud, glad they are working well for you!

Quote from: va longbeard on April 11, 2019, 06:34:59 AM

Quote from: BigSlam51 on April 10, 2019, 06:11:15 PM
I have no problem playing mine just using a scotch brite pad. Mine aren't even conditioned to raw aluminum.
d
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Some are more picky than others for sure!

I am playing Chad's calls scuffing it with green scotch brite and they play like a dream, some of the least picky slick aluminum calls I have ever played.

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Quote from: MDTOM84 on April 09, 2019, 12:32:00 PM
What % alcohol did you use? I have noticed that if you don't use the highest % alcohol you will have problems

If you use 91% alcohol, you shouldn't have a problem. 87% and you likely will have slipping of the striker and no sound. I see that Amazon has 99%. I'm guessing that would be even better.
If you use 91% and for some reason you still have trouble, try touching the end of your striker on your tongue (yeah, I know it sounds weird) and chalking the tip. You can use rain chalk or regular box call chalk (railroad chalk). That should give you great grip.

try touching the end of your striker on your tongue (yeah, I know it sounds weird) and chalking the tip. You can use rain chalk or regular box call chalk (railroad chalk).
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Why not just dip it in water instead