What kind of surface finish of Ti's?

[octaf]

Titanium tends to get scratches very easily on surface and I think it's the nature of the material.

I've seen some heat treated (,not coating) Ti's.
The feel and the touch of the Ti surface was incredibly smoother and much more resistant against scratches than normal Ti's, but I guess you do not have the control over the colors.

What type of finishes do you like most including natural, stone wash, bead blast, various coatings, and maybe more ??? :wave:

 

[carrot]

I love stonewashed on anything. Fairly nice looking and highly functional, as your own scratches do not show. I also really like the "patina" that a Ti object gets from daily wear and tear.

 

[JohnnyDeep]

I prefer stonewashed or satin polished with fine Scotch-Brite™.
Very easy to restore a beautiful finish and remove scratches.
No anodizing or other surface treatment to titanium.

 

[precisionworks]

fine Scotch-Brite™.

+1

My new PD-S had a couple of barely visible scuffs on the outside tail section - a quick rub with a Maroon Scotch-Brite pad took those off and left that surface as perfect as the rest of the light.

DarkZero redid a Ti light for gvslakers - not sure what he used but the end result was awesome.

 

[PoliceScannerMan]

Dont do a thing to it but EDC. After 18 months my Ti PD from the 03/07 wave looks stone washed. Liker carrot said, it develops its own patina.

 

[Kiessling]

The beauty of ti is that it isn't coated or treated in any way. A scratch is no problem and might even add to the light's beauty, giving it patina.

 

[McGizmo]

Thanks to Modamag, I have some exotic film samples on some of my Ti lights. I think the diamond is likely the most durable but the TiCN is pretty resistant to abuse.

I worked for an aerospace fastener manufacturer many years ago and we had 6-4 parts that were sent out for heat treating. They had a pretty dark and cool finish and as I recall, the hardness was increased to a point that this finish was likely not too vulnerable. I have always figured that if one wanted a real durable finish on Ti that if the metal were first heat treated to increase its hardness and then plated with one of the hard exotic films that you would have a pretty durable finish; hard film over a harder substrate.

 

[AndyTiedye]

My fave is rainbow anodize

I'm gonna have to learn how to do this kind of TI-dye some day!

TiN is nice too. These are all Modamag's handiwork:

 

[octaf]

My fave is rainbow anodize

I'm gonna have to learn how to do this kind of TI-dye some day!

TiN is nice too. These are all Modamag's handiwork:

Hello, AndyTiedye
I can see the rainbow color well, but not the TiN's of Modamag's.
I'd like to know what color these are !!!

 

[tino_ale]

I've never seen stone washed titanium, anyone has a good picture of that?

I love sand blasted Ti but it tends to catch scratches rather easily.

 

[precisionworks]

I can't imagine that stonewashed (tumbled in ceramic ball media) would look any different on Ti than it does on the S30V blade of a Sebenza. FWIW, the Sebenza handle is sandblasted Ti, which gives it a nice grip without being rough.

 

[octaf]

I've never seen stone washed titanium, anyone has a good picture of that?

I love sand blasted Ti but it tends to catch scratches rather easily.

Here is an example from other post in the forum.
I guess the one in the right is stonewashed 6-4 Ti's.

 

[Edwood]

Stonewash is my preferred surface finish. It looks great and hides scratches and scuffs.

Other than that, I like plain ole nekkid machine finish.

 

[tino_ale]

Thanks for the pics. I think I like the stonewashed finish. Is it easily done at home?

 

[octaf]

Thanks for the pics. I think I like the stonewashed finish. Is it easily done at home?

I didn't do it.
It is someone else's project.

 

[precisionworks]

I think I like the stonewashed finish. Is it easily done at home?

You can do it yourself ... you'll need a tumbler (either rotary or vibratory). Fill the drum about half full with ceramic ball media, put the parts into the drum, run for 6-12 hours and inspect the results ... which are only guaranteed to be interesting

Would I put my PD-S in a tumbler -- in one word, NO. Glass bead blasting is more controllable & more predictable.

 

[octaf]

You can do it yourself ... you'll need a tumbler (either rotary or vibratory). Fill the drum about half full with ceramic ball media, put the parts into the drum, run for 6-12 hours and inspect the results ... which are only guaranteed to be interesting

Would I put my PD-S in a tumbler -- in one word, NO. Glass bead blasting is more controllable & more predictable.

Wow, I didn't know it takes that much time !!! :shakehead

I saw BB done within a minute or so. But 6-12 Hrs on stonewash?
and unpredictable? :shakehead

It must be a very cost-uneffective process. :wave:

 

[precisionworks]

Tumbled finishes introduce many variables ...

Size of tumbler (or vibrator)

Speed or frequency

Size & shape of media

Hardness of media

Dry or wet process

Etc.

There isn't a lot of abrasive action going on at any one time, as opposed to bead blast. There, the abrasion is highly concentrated in an area that's usually no more than 5mm or 6mm.

Once you set all the parameters, tumbling/vibratory finishing is an inexpensive process - load the parts & the media, set the timer, come back tomorrow. It becomes predictable after just a few trial runs.

 

[octaf]

Nice to have this information of stonewashing process !
Thanks Precisionworks.

 

[tino_ale]

Good stuff to know! Sure it deserves a try for someone who has a garage. Who is trying first?