Anodizing Titanium

[McGizmo]

......
I would like to see a "quick color kit" for sale to the Ti anodization enthusiast. You know, everything you need in a mailable pkg.

.....

oregon

I haven't looked into their offerings in years but in the past, I found Reactivemetals to have some good stuff and info in regards to anodizing the various reactive metals including Ti. Riogrande also has or had some useful tools.

 

[csshih]

my badly done, ano attempt with a random assortment of batteries.. I've sanded that poor light so many times the logo is gone.. it was a thrunite TIkey

 

[KuKu427]

Dude! Not bad! Not bad at all!

 

[exodus125]

here are 2 pieces I finished today.

 

[oregon]

You are too good.

Beautiful color and nicely arranged on the piston.

WOW!

Thank you for sharing.

oregon

 

[exodus125]

Thanks :twothumbs

 

[scout24]

I may have to dive in with some 9v batteries and Coca-cola. May try some clips first. Does anyone know of a source of scrap pieces of Ti to work with first, just to try to get the hang of the process? I would hate to learn on good pieces.

 

[KuKu427]

Well, if you mess up, you can take off the anno with 1200 grit and scouring pads... Just try not to mess up on the knurling. Good luck!

 

[Nictalope]

Hullo evrybody,

I was amazed at the works ive seen here
like them very much, and very useful too.. unlike mine

Am still trying to get together my first anodizer,
as for now worked mostly with heat.

usually i grind some parts with aluminium oxide grinding stone wheels
on a flex shaft.
I feel that way get "stronger" colors, maybe not :shakehead

here's some i made, the 2 flattened wires, no grinding, just
raw from the mill
Grinded the concave, round pieces,

Tried several times grinding heating, grinding heatin,
until i've got the (for me) elusive blue,



Cheers

 

[RIDE]

OK...maybe a dumb question....but how does one ano a flashlight? Do you dunk it as is...assembled and all? Does the lense get effected if you do?

RIDE

 

[RocketTomato]

There is a link to a video in the very first post which will answer all your questions and more.

 

[saabgoblin]

Guys,
I need to qualify myself as no artist what so ever beyond having some creative ideas but no technical skills to get them down by hand.

Heavy wear in contact and abrasion can damage a Ti canvas but beyond that, weather and light will not change it at all. I can't imagine a more permanent canvas or means of holding and retaining a graphic over the long haul.

of course the image should be one worthy of long term existence!

My wife and I made Ti earings many years ago and most were formed and cut thin sheets of Ti which were then polished, bead blasted engraved and masked and anodized in steps. I found you could get some really cool and subtle textures and colors using jeweler's polishing and grinding bits as well as tiny wire wheels and buffing wheels and points in conjunction with the anodizing. You can also subject the piece to a light dusting of bead blasting with blasting pens that are the scale of the small airburshes.

There are the classic mediums of scrimshaw, cloisene, and engraving that artisans practiced over the centuries and I can't help but imagine that if the technologies at the time provided titanium and and the means of anodizing it that some of these artisans wouldn't have embraced it as well. Perhaps someday, it will become a field in jewelery or forms of functional art where some real craftsmen and artists apply their magic! :thumbsup:

In the real crude depiction of the SF city front with golden gate in the background and Alacratraz in the bay, all of the little "lights" are the result of a tiny diamond burr that cut through the anodize. As you move the light source or your viewing angle from left to right, these lights blink on or off and the sky and water go from relative light to dark:

If you can consider these examples on par with a two year old's crayon drawings but then imagine the same medium in the hands of a master.....

Hello Don, I have wanted to comment about your comments in this post for some time but I have always held off for some reason. Maybe this should be in the form of a PM but here goes just the same for all to see.


You may want to open your mind to allow yourself to be called an artist or at least continue to produce because many artists that are technically proficient aren't able to put any feeling into their work like many of today's action movies, full of effects and no plot. I know that for myself as an artist that went to school to "Master" technique and become proficient in realistic rendering, I soon found that all of my work looked the same and producing further works just became a process and not an investigation of a feeling and or mood. When I allowed myself to once again be free to simply create, I once again enjoyed myself and the process as I had done before becoming overly concerned about technique.

As for your San Francisco Image, I can see a little Van Gogh influence and Picasso sought to be able to draw with the passion and vision of a child so please don't sell yourself short. Basically, I applaud your works and your courage to post them and as former painting teacher once said to me as I was trying too hard to capture an image in my first years of painting, "there is a reason why all the really great painters are old".

Maybe I am just biased because I live in San Francisco but there you have it.

Send my love to the turtles.

 

[RIDE]

There is a link to a video in the very first post which will answer all your questions and more.

Thanks...looked at that a while back, and had forgotten!

RIDE

 

[AlecGold]

Hi Don,

you mentioned somewhere that you did use vinegar as an acid. Does that affect the colors/dullness of the anodizing?
I would like to use vinegar as it is easy to get and friendly to use.
you could even drink it afterwards, but might get a bit sour afterwards :nana:

 

[McGizmo]

I don't recall using vinegar. :thinking: :shrug:

 

[AlecGold]

https://www.candlepowerforums.com/posts/2982011&postcount=35

my mistake, it wasn't you who did use vinegar

 

[reptiles]

Greetings all,

Thank you Don for the video. I might try coloring some of my minor gadgets.

I was wondering how one might remove ano color if it didn't come out as desired.

I know the smooth accessible parts could simply be polished, but what about recessed areas or bead blasted finishes?

How would one remove anodizing from that?

Thanks,

Mark

 

[McGizmo]

The titanium oxide has to be removed either through abrasion or chemical etching. The former is pretty straight forward and the latter is not trivial because Ti oxide is pretty inert. I used to use a chemical called No-San that was developed as an alternative to hydrofluoric acid which is really nasty nasty stuff!! I found I could put a Ti part in the No-San and in reasonable time it would have a dull etched surface with the anodized oxide layer removed. I also discovered that I couldn't keep the No-San in a pyrex beaker because over time it would go flat and loose its ability to etch. In the process of going flat, it removed an obvious layer of the pyrex glass! :green:

I would add that you can provide a higher voltage than originally used for the anodize film and you will get to an even looking oxide film of yet a new color.

I don't know what is happening but with my anodizing rig, if I pump the voltage up near 100 volts, I get a thick oxide layer that doesn't have any obvious color to it; more of a gray metal color. In the sun though, there is a bit of a pearl effect with some iridescence noticed.

I would also guess that you could subject the titanium to some significant heat and get a thick and possibly contaminated oxide layer that would no longer give you color. :shrug:

 

[reptiles]

I don't know what is happening but with my anodizing rig, if I pump the voltage up near 100 volts, I get a thick oxide layer that doesn't have any obvious color to it; more of a gray metal color. In the sun though, there is a bit of a pearl effect with some iridescence noticed.

Thanks Don, I think I'll take my time and practice a bit before I subject any of my lights to my experimentation. I'm not a fan of acid etching.

Although regarding the above gray color you mentioned... I once bought a ti knife that the maker finished in, "104volt ti-color ano" which I never quite understood till now

Regards,

Mark

 

[toby_pra]

Beautiful work Don!

If i want to anodize my Ti PD-Mule, i need to disassemble the light,
but i dont know how...:candle:

How can i empty the head? Do i need to screw the Light-Engine of the
bak of the head? Or how does it work?