Every Dead Wake bow is finished in anodized aluminum. Anodizing is not paint or coating applied to the surface. It is an electrochemical process that converts the outer layer of the aluminum itself into a hard, dyed oxide. The color becomes part of the metal. It does not flake, chip, or peel because there is nothing sitting on top of the surface to come off.
Beyond solid color, Dead Wake offers acid wash and multi-color finishing techniques that produce one-off results no two bows share. Every special finish is done by hand. The process has variables that cannot be fully controlled, which is exactly what makes each result unique.
Clear anodized and bare aluminum
Clear anodize runs the full electrochemical process without any dye. The aluminum surface is hardened and sealed the same way as a colored anodize, giving it equivalent protection against corrosion and wear, but the metal retains its natural silver appearance. It is not the same as leaving the aluminum raw. The hardened oxide layer is present, just without pigment.
Bare aluminum skips anodizing entirely. Parts are typically tumbled after machining to smooth out tool marks and give a consistent matte texture. Raw and tumbled describe the same thing in practice: an uncoated aluminum surface with no electrochemical treatment. It is the most minimal finish option visually and the lightest in terms of surface treatment.
Two Dead Wake Infuzion XL side by side comparing clear anodized riser with orange parts against a fully bare aluminum build
Dead Wake bow components showing clear anodize, raw aluminum, and tumbled bare finish side by side for direct comparison
Solid color anodizing
The standard finish on all Dead Wake bows.
Each section of the bow, riser, parts, pulleys, and outer limbs, can be anodized in the same color or in a different one. The standard color range includes black, blue, red, orange, green, OD green, teal, purple, pink, yellow, brown, gray, and more.
Power limbs are finished in Cerakote paint, which suits the composite material and comes with its own color range.
Acid wash
Acid washing is applied after anodizing. An acidic solution is worked across the finished surface, etching through the color layer at varying depths. Where the etch goes deeper it reveals lighter tones and in some areas raw aluminum underneath. The result is an organic, textured finish that breaks the solid color up into something with visible depth and variation.
Three styles are available. A pattern wash distributes the etch relatively evenly across the surface. A runs wash creates elongated streaks and drip lines with strong directionality. A random wash is the least controlled of the three, producing irregular patches and bursts with no consistent direction. All three are custom, one-off jobs. You can specify the style, but not the exact outcome.
Single color acid wash
The bow is anodized in a single base color, then acid washed to create texture and contrast within that color. The etch reveals progressively lighter tones as it works through the anodize layer, creating visible variation without introducing a second color.
Dead Wake EF5 with red anodized base and single color spray acid wash finish showing organic etch texture
Dead Wake Leviathan with bright green anodized base and single color acid wash finish
Dead Wake Infuzion XL with purple anodized base and pattern acid wash finish showing evenly distributed etch texture
Two color acid wash
The bow receives a base color anodize, then a second color is applied before the acid wash stage. The wash etches through both color layers at varying depths, revealing the base beneath the secondary color in some areas and raw aluminum beneath both in others. The result has more tonal range and contrast than a single color wash because there are more layers for the acid to work through.
Dead Wake Leviathan with black anodized base and orange two-color acid wash finish showing layered depth and tonal contrast
Multi-color and camo finishes
Full camo and multi-color builds combine multiple sequential anodizing stages with selective masking and acid washing at different points in the process. Each color is applied, treated, and partially etched before the next goes on. The layering is what gives the finished result the kind of depth and variation that a printed or sprayed camo pattern cannot replicate, because the color genuinely lives at different levels within the aluminum surface.
The first image below shows an intermediate stage in a multi-color camo build, after the initial heavy acid wash and before the subsequent color layers are added. It gives a sense of the textured foundation the process builds on before it becomes a finished camo pattern.
EF5 riser with brown anodized base and heavy acid wash as preparation stage for multi-color camo anodize finish
Completed Dead Wake EF5 with multi-color camo anodized finish in OD green and black with acid wash texture throughout. Each pattern comes out different, these are one-off batches.
An Infuzion XL with Flag special finish
An EF5 with the Galaxy special finish
Other special finishes require a direct conversation before ordering. Contact us to discuss what you have in mind and get a quote based on the specific build.
Pricing
| Finish | Upcharge |
|---|---|
| Solid color anodize | $25.00 |
| Bare / raw / tumbled | Included |
| Clear anodize | $25.00 |
| Single color acid wash | $75.00 |
| Two color acid wash | $100.00 |
| Multi-color / camo | $125.00 – $150.00 |
All anodizing is done in house. Specialty finishes add time to production. If you have something specific in mind that you do not see listed here, get in touch before ordering.