How To Anodizing Ti - DIY at home

[Cow51]

The titanium wire arrived today and I got straight to work on my standoffs, apparently, despite what Spyderco told me, the standoffs are not titanium. They didn't anodize, they just fizzled in the water like steel would. Really disappointing since the coloring on the wire was really nice looking...

 

[bflying]

Oops. Duplicate.

 

[bflying]

The titanium wire arrived today and I got straight to work on my standoffs, apparently, despite what Spyderco told me, the standoffs are not titanium. They didn't anodize, they just fizzled in the water like steel would. Really disappointing since the coloring on the wire was really nice looking...

That's a bummer. But unfortunately not many standoffs on production knives are Ti. The first test I give components is a magnet test. That at least rules out steel. Then you just have to guess if is actually aluminum.

Depending on how thick your Ti wire is, you may be able to roll it to use as a lanyard bead. Like those made of copper and silver in my last set of pics. I've been using some pretty thin titanium wire for the anodizing, but have been meaning to order some 12 or 16 gauge. It would be easy to ano the wire beads to a complimentary color to the dressed up knife.

 

[bflying]

The titanium wire arrived today and I got straight to work on my standoffs, apparently, despite what Spyderco told me, the standoffs are not titanium. They didn't anodize, they just fizzled in the water like steel would. Really disappointing since the coloring on the wire was really nice looking...

Hey Cow51. I was just thinking. If Spyderco told you the standoffs were Ti, it's possible that they just had some kind of sealant, or even just an oil film. Try one more time before giving up. Use rubbing alcohol (or maybe acetone) to remove any oils. Then give a good bath in Whink Rust Remover to etch and prepare for the ano. Get some good bubble action going.

I had a ZT Ti clip that I did last week. It looked like a natural color that was just bead blasted. But it didn't take the ano, no matter how much power I threw on it. I gave up, and just reinstalled. But later that night I decided to try one more time with a good long Whink soaking. That time worked. And I got the deep blue I wanted to go with the blue CF slabs that it was on.

Here's another video I like, even though I don't have the equipment he uses. He takes a single bead through the entire color spectrum using a bench top power source.

I may be doing some more ZT's over the long weekend. I bought three ZT0801Ti's, one for each of my kids. Hoping they want to customize and create a project we can work on together.

Not sure if I posted up the color scale I use to estimate voltage needed for a color. But in any case, here it is anyway. I printed the chart, then remarked the scale adding marks at 9 volt increments. Makes it easy to quickly know how many batteries I need to stack.

 

[Cow51]

I did clean it with alcohol before trying to anodize it, but something stronger like Whink might do the trick. Thanks for the advice! I really liked the color on the wire I used so this would be awesome if it works.

 

[lzeplin]

I found your thread been experimenting today, here's what I've came up with so far. This is my first attempt, how did you get the green? How many batteries? lol

 

[bflying]

I found your thread been experimenting today, here's what I've came up with so far. This is my first attempt, how did you get the green? How many batteries? lol

Wow, that's a great first attempt. The green on my zt0055 was kind of stumbled into. I've tried to hit green a number of times, but always seemed to miss. I think I had 8-9 batteries on at the time. The biggest problem with batteries is repeatability. As they wear down, results change. I'm pretty sure now that the color I hit was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between light blue and yellow.

I actually just bought the same power supply that is seen in the last video I posted. And for the first time hit that dark green on the tip of my little Boker Pry that has become my test peice. The poor thing has been stripped and re-ano'd over a dozen times. But a bit worried it has already fizzled out on me. Did a few pieces, then it started to make a sizzling sound inside. Now the voltage drops when a load is applied. Will be doing some more experimenting to rule out user error before I panic.

 

[lzeplin]

Those are beautiful! I hope it your machine hasn't quit?? That would suck, where did you buy it from? Id love to be able to get the green...

Wow, that's a great first attempt. The green on my zt0055 was kind of stumbled into. I've tried to hit green a number of times, but always seemed to miss. I think I had 8-9 batteries on at the time. The biggest problem with batteries is repeatability. As they wear down, results change. I'm pretty sure now that the color I hit was somewhere in the middle of the spectrum between light blue and yellow.

I actually just bought the same power supply that is seen in the last video I posted. And for the first time hit that dark green on the tip of my little Boker Pry that has become my test peice. The poor thing has been stripped and re-ano'd over a dozen times. But a bit worried it has already fizzled out on me. Did a few pieces, then it started to make a sizzling sound inside. Now the voltage drops when a load is applied. Will be doing some more experimenting to rule out user error before I panic.

 

[bflying]

Those are beautiful! I hope it your machine hasn't quit?? That would suck, where did you buy it from? Id love to be able to get the green...

I was able to get it working today. I'm now just not sure if I had a false impression of how it was working. I thought the voltage set jumped and held when the load was hit. But now it falls, and creeps up as the amp's fall when the lead is attached.

So I tried to reproduce that green I hit with the batteries. I didn't like the combo color on my zt0456, so it became the guinea pig. I set to 50 volts, and got somewhere close, but with more yellow in it. I thought it was closer at the time, but the final color doesn't really come out until everything is clean and dry. Not sure which side of the scale I need to lean towards to come closer to a toxic green.

 

[lzeplin]

I was able to get it working today. I'm now just not sure if I had a false impression of how it was working. I thought the voltage set jumped and held when the load was hit. But now it falls, and creeps up as the amp's fall when the lead is attached.

So I tried to reproduce that green I hit with the batteries. I didn't like the combo color on my zt0456, so it became the guinea pig. I set to 50 volts, and got somewhere close, but with more yellow in it. I thought it was closer at the time, but the final color doesn't really come out until everything is clean and dry. Not sure which side of the scale I need to lean towards to come closer to a toxic green.

Dang that's awesome, I'd call it toxic green.. Where did you buy your machine? Also have you been able to hit a darker green?

 

[WValtakis]

That's normal operation. Your unit has current control you'll want to use it, if it's been whacking that small piece with 3 amps it would cause issues. I'd probably only go up to about .5 amps on that if I was setting the voltage and dunking the part, it takes patience to get great colors.

Also, green is up above 100 volts...50 is usually kind of a gold to rose gold depending on the alloy.

I got pretty heavily into anodizing a while back

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/custom-titanium-anodizing.770502/

~Chip

 

[bflying]

That's normal operation. Your unit has current control you'll want to use it, if it's been whacking that small piece with 3 amps it would cause issues. I'd probably only go up to about .5 amps on that if I was setting the voltage and dunking the part, it takes patience to get great colors.

Also, green is up above 100 volts...50 is usually kind of a gold to rose gold depending on the alloy.

I got pretty heavily into anodizing a while back

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/custom-titanium-anodizing.770502/

~Chip

Glad to hear that my machine is working normally. I love your work. I was setting the nominal amps with the CV light. Usually landed around .5-.6. Then giving it time to drop to .02-.04. At least that is what I did today. Not sure how hard I was zapping things the first day of use.

 

[bflying]

Dang that's awesome, I'd call it toxic green.. Where did you buy your machine? Also have you been able to hit a darker green?

Have not landed a dark green on anything significant. Just little spots on test peices. I picked up the machine on eBay. This model runs around $100.

 

[lzeplin]

Care to tell how you do the stripe's? Is it just pen striping, then anodize?

That's normal operation. Your unit has current control you'll want to use it, if it's been whacking that small piece with 3 amps it would cause issues. I'd probably only go up to about .5 amps on that if I was setting the voltage and dunking the part, it takes patience to get great colors.

Also, green is up above 100 volts...50 is usually kind of a gold to rose gold depending on the alloy.

I got pretty heavily into anodizing a while back

https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/custom-titanium-anodizing.770502/

~Chip

 

[WValtakis]

Care to tell how you do the stripe's? Is it just pen striping, then anodize?

That one was one of the trickiest pieces I've done, the outline was masked with PCB transfer and the rest was masked after each dip with enamel. The puzzle pieces in the linked thread were all hand masked with enamel.

~Chip

 

[bflying]

Well I'm finally getting a bit more comfortable with the DC Powersource. A few colors I've been able to replicate. Or at least return to a very similar color at certain voltages. A couple of my recent ano's highlight the difference that the Ti surface finish makes.

The more subdued matte/satin finishes show less variation in color due to lighting and such. But polish the Ti to high shine or mirror like, and the ano color will shift and morph with movement and every lighting change. Check out the Massdrop Falcon. Body is pretty much always looks dark blue. But the green clip picks up different shades with just about every lighting environment/brightness/angle.

So, here's a few pics of my Massdrop Falcon Clip. It's changed colors a few times.

Before I go much further, I should drop an educational note. Whether it is a good or bad move, I'll leave that up to you to critique. Instead of a peice of rolled up aluminum foil, dropped into a glass...Used as the cathode (negative side). I am now trying out a metal bowl, and attaching the neg lead to the edge. Filled with electrolyte of choice. I'm now using water with baking soda and a little Borax detergent. Then drop a plastic strainer to keep part from welding to the negative side. Positive lead is still a Ti wire hook to hang the part from.

And here is my ZT0450 with it's maybe 4th or 5th strip and redo. This shade I REALLY like. Will probably be a keeper.

And here is my most recent knife to land, and Massdrop FF Gent. The Ti slabs had a tumbled or stonewashed look to them. After my etching in Whink, the surface was extremely dull, matte finish of sorts. I used them to experiment with some different voltages for color. At first I was sure I would hate it, but after all said and done, I now really like it. Was worried it would look too rainbow-ee. But so little of the Ti actually shows from around the edges of the g10 onlay. A little color is actually nice.

 

[mattmanyam]

Looks great!

 

[BellaBlades]

Sweet thread. I know what im doing with my day off next week.

 

[bflying]

BellaBlades & M mattmanyam

Thank you. If you end up trying something, be sure to show it off.

 

[bflying]

So last night, I headed downstairs with two Kizer 3452's in hand. My boy wanted his to have a Bobba Fet green. Hitting specific odd colors are sometimes a bit hit 'n miss. So I thought I should use mine a the test knife. So I stripped her down and got ready to go.

At that point, my daughter walked by, and I convinced her to come watch the process. With the amp's kept down, the colors on the parts slowly began to morph their way through. All of a sudden, my girl screams STOP. The scales were this crazy pastel pink. But even I thought they look good. So she runs to her room, and comes back with her Ki3452. She handed it to me, and says "this one is now yours". Ok, I'm good with that.

Since that process went well, decided to do the same with the clip. She told me what color she wanted, but was open to the process. So I started cranking up the power on clip. But this time I was expecting the loud "Stop.