I also have an anodizing shop. I see alot wrong with the instructions as listed. Number #1 you are not plating a part with anodizing but rather you are growing a coating on the part made from itself. Anodizing will not flake off like chrome "plating does. Number#2 the acid ratio is through the roof in the instructions at least for what I use. I run a ratio just the opposite to start with. Anyone that does this get a battery tester from the parts store and your mix should be at 1.100 on the gage. Next the text offers nothing about the temp to run the parts at. If you want to ruin some part do this with your tank a garage temp in the middle of summer!!!! The disolution rate ( rate at which the acid eats the new anodize as it forms) will be so high you will be lucky to build a layer to start with. The temp at which home brew anodizing works is between 65 and 70 degrees. Any lower and it slows the process down any higher and you are fighting disolution. Next ditch the foil. That will only cause big time trouble. A piece of aluminum sheet or lead works much better. Use the foil to wrap your leftovers. As for the Rit-Dye....it's junk for anything you really want to have pride in for any length of time. It's light fastness is bad and will fade pretty quick if you take your parts outside. There is anodizing quality dyes made for just this purpose that will not fade. As for sealing the part which "locks" the anodize pores Use boiling water but DO NOT put the part into the boiling water rather hang the part in the steam. You are looking at steaming it for about an hour. Placing the part into the boiling water will pull the color out of the part. i.e. you dyed the part red and with boiling water you will end up with a PINK part! I have a liquid sealer that is made to seal anodized parts that works real well. A battery charger will work just great ...but make sure it's a manual one and not an automatic one as an automatic one will be fooled by the anodizing process and will shut itself off. This is just the tip of the iceburg. I don't want to scare anyone off from trying but just remember that there is a number of chemicals needed to do a real top notch anodizing job. By the time you get the parts and chemicals together to do a handful of parts you would be better off just finding a shop to do them for you. Plus you don't have gallons of chemicals to get rid off. Just my 2 cents.

LAter,
Tim