Anodizing Question

[A. Brett Schaller]

When anodizing titanium, I've noticed that I get nice bright colors at first, but when I handle the piece the oils from my hands dull the colors considerably. They don't look bad, just much duller than they were. Just wiping down the piece won't restore the colors, but wiping with Windex or rubbing alchohol will. (Incidentally, I clean the pieces with Windex and rubbing alcholol before anodizing.)
there any way to prevent this? For that matter, is there any way to protect anodized Ti from scratches and such? I've heard of a product that you spray on and then bake in the oven that can protect bead-blasted titanium from scratching - would that work for anodizing as well?

Thanks!

 

[Mojohammer]

I anodize titanium also. The anodized color you see is a result of the light reflecting through the anodized layer. When oils (from your hand or other source) are present, you will have a variation in the appearance of the color.

One thing that might help is to etch the titanium to before you anodize it as it has already oxidized at the surface. The etching will remove the oxidation and give you more vibrant colors when you do anodize.

Titanium will scratch just like any other metal will. It is not as hard as steel so it is more likely to be scratched when used in the same application.

With respect to the oven baked solution. Ask the same question for steel. The answer is the oven baked solution probably will not work. The only way to protect steel is to heat treat it or some type of coating such as nitrogen which is done at high temperature and pressure.

 

[tiguy7]

In my experience, a properly anodized Titanium handle is much more resistant to scratching than raw Titanium. The anodize coating is a Titanium salt which is much harder than the base metal. I have an anodized Ti bicycle frame which was coated with silicone to reduce the tendency of the surface to show fingerprints. It works.