Anodizing titanium electrically?

Look into using 9v batteries.i had never ano'd anything and the other day i gave it a whirl using batteries.as long as your solution is good you should have nice vibrant color almost instantly!

I was blown away with how accuratly it can be done.

blue3.jpg
 
balibalistic, that looks amazing! i love the blade style on that bali. and yeah im planning on using 9v's cause ive got them at hand, what kind of solution did you use? messermacher's resources give a few options, im just wondering what you used to get your results?

so this is my idea, let me know if you guys think it will work...

just so you know, im working with a regular bm42 here, plain and boringgg. anyways, if i use two 9v's and anodize both handles a light color. then clean them up and dry them, then drip hot wax in random patterns over the handles, leaving dried gobs of it here and there to give a splashy random pattern. then i anodize them again this time with three 9v batteries, which should give a darker color to the exposed areas. the final product would ideally be a dark color with splashy light blotches. Sound like it could work?
 
Masking off areas does workk well, and you can use a lot of different things to mask areas. Paint. wax. Sharpie pens, shellac, lacquer, etc...
To get the full range of colors available, you need to be able to go in excess of 100VDC.
Alan Folts has done some real nice anodizing, and is a real helpful, friendly guy to talk to. Yes, he also makes knives...
 
Lukthree said:
balibalistic, that looks amazing! i love the blade style on that bali. and yeah im planning on using 9v's cause ive got them at hand, what kind of solution did you use? messermacher's resources give a few options, im just wondering what you used to get your results?

so this is my idea, let me know if you guys think it will work...

just so you know, im working with a regular bm42 here, plain and boringgg. anyways, if i use two 9v's and anodize both handles a light color. then clean them up and dry them, then drip hot wax in random patterns over the handles, leaving dried gobs of it here and there to give a splashy random pattern. then i anodize them again this time with three 9v batteries, which should give a darker color to the exposed areas. the final product would ideally be a dark color with splashy light blotches. Sound like it could work?
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That should work fine! be sure to put the handles in the freexer after so the wax comes off in one piece without scraping :)

i used cascade dishsoap and tap water.my mixture was lots 'o soap,and lots 'o water :D carefuull though,that stuff will bleach your girlfriends brand new roots hoody very fast!! cost me $80 for 5 minutes help :jerkit:
 
Lukthree said:
balibalistic, that looks amazing! i love the blade style on that bali. and yeah im planning on using 9v's cause ive got them at hand, what kind of solution did you use? messermacher's resources give a few options, im just wondering what you used to get your results?

so this is my idea, let me know if you guys think it will work...
Click to expand...

Anything mildly acidic will work. I think I used citric acid and tap water the last time I did this. 9v batteries will do the job, but a regulated dc power supply is better. Some colors only show up in a narrow voltage range and which can be hard to maintain as the batteries run down. Also, don't trust any voltage to color chart you see online. This process can be highly dependent on the alloy and bath composition. Get some scraps of the alloy you're working with and make up your own chart using the same equipment you're using on your knife.
 
I just started making chop sticks out of TI and decided they needed colour .I used my 12v car charger and a solution of distilled water 1% battery acid ,masked the sticks with plastic tape,make sure you press the over lap of the tap down well or you end up with a line under the tape.

AnodizedTIchopsticks8.jpg


Richard
 
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You can also use TSP and water. The Tsp ( tri sodium phosphate) is a readily found cleaner that you can get at most paint supply stores and many grocery stores. It also works great for neutralizing ferric chloride after etching damascus!!
 
thanks for all the great info guys, ill probably give this a try in the next few days and maybe even write up my own little tutorial specifically for customizing a bm42 if i get good enough results :D
 
Steven Kelly said:
You can also use TSP and water. The Tsp ( tri sodium phosphate) is a readily found cleaner that you can get at most paint supply stores and many grocery stores. It also works great for neutralizing ferric chloride after etching damascus!!
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I have not found that to be the case any more. Everywhere I check they have a TSP substitute, (Same seems to go for muriatic acid.) but then I've read of folks anodizing with the substitute successfully anyway.
 
Home Depot, Lowes, and even Wal-Mart still sell real TSP in my neck of the woods.

Look in the paint department.

That being said, my best results come from a filtered solution of Cascade dishwasher detergent.
Only thing I've found that gives me BRIGHT green.
Compliments of Alan Folts...
 
Brian,

What kind of voltage and current are you using to get green? I understand it needs to be pretty high. Have you found that to be so?

Thanks, Phil
 
I'd have to look at my chart when I get home, but it's in the neighborhood of 90v.
I believe my variac is 5 amps, though I need to look at that too.

I'd post a link, but last time I did that it was a disaster.

My recommendation is that no one should anodize anything, it's dangerous...
 
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Ya, and never handle knives either. They're dangerous too!

The reason I asked is that alot of the anodizing info I've seen talks about putting a few 9V batteries together in series. I just couldn't see that approach getting the job done for green, which is a color I'd want to get.
 
so ~90V for bright green? that means ten 9v batteries in series :D, haha just kidding thats probably not a good idea...
 
Hmmm, maybe it would work. What kind of current would the batteries return? Of course, the cost of ten 9 volt batteries would add up too, which might be invested in a variable power supply instead.
 
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