Anodizing...

birdave

birdave

Gold Member
Joined
Jul 13, 2011
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BF Members,
Who does a good job of anodizing?
I need a ti. pocket clip and ti. hardware anodized blue.

Thanks for your time and for any info. you can provide.
Have a good weekend and stay safe, birdave.
 
You can do it yourself. (1) clean well with alcohol or acetone; (2) anodize over a flame.
 
Does heat change the structure or strength of the titanium? Or any other adverse effects?
WValtakis said:
Pet peeve...heat coloring is NOT anodizing, totally different process with similar results. Only the low range bronze/purple/blue are possible with heat.
Click to expand...
 
Thanks to all who've weighed in.
What ferider suggested may work, but the parts I'd like anodized, can't be replaced.
So, if I damage them with my first attempt at anodizing, I'm screwed.
I will try ferider's method on a piece of titanium that I can spare...I just have to find one.
I may be getting in touch with WValtakis, so the job is done right.
Thanks again, everyone's time and advice are Truly appreciated.
Stay safe, Joe (birdave in BF).
 
If the parts are hard to replace, maybe better to send them out.

Over heat the color changes to bronze -> blue -> purple -> brown/grey rather quickly, and you have to heat the clip very evenly. Good strategy to try on a test part first.
 
birdave said:
Who does a good job of anodizing?
I need a ti. pocket clip and ti. hardware anodized blue.
Click to expand...

Someone else responded, but only got it half right. Titanium really IS easy to color anodize. But heat isn't really the way to go about it. If you're the kind of guy to play the garage making things, you can do color anodizing.

In your wife's favorite Tupperware, mix up a batch of electrolyte. Electrolyte is water with some salt, or baking soda, or detergent added. You wrap a wire around your titanium piece, and a cathode that can be pretty much any chunk of metal you have laying around. Hook up the wire to any kind of power supply, such as a car battery charger, variac, appliance cord with a diode and rheostat, or just a series of 9v batteries. The voltage you apply determines what color the titanium becomes. 20v gets you one color, 40 volts something else, and 80 volts another color completely. I've glossed over some specifics, but that's the general process. Use YouTube or google for explicit instructions and color diagrams. And the great thing is, if you don't like the way it comes out, you can just polish it away and start over.
 
Thanks again, to all who've weighed in.
Your time and advice are appreciated!
Stay safe, Joe.
 
I've done it to dozens of my knives, clips and other various titanium tools and utensils. I've never had a problem warping or any other damage to the titanium. Just buy a butane kitchen torch and go for it. If you don't get the color you want, take some really fine grit sandpaper and remove it and try again.

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tokerblue,
Thanks very much! The two knives look GREAT!
I had a butane kitchen torch many years ago...served me well.
Will try your method on a spare piece of titanium and see what happens.
Thank you for weighing in, it's appreciated!
Stay safe, birdave.
 
Good luck. Just go slow and move the flame back and forth over about a 1" area. Once you see the color you want, move on to the next area. Keep a glass of water close by in case the titanium gets too hot to hold. If the titanium has a hole, you can always use a large paper clip to hold it.
 
tokerblue,
Thanks again for the info. and for your time...very much appreciated!
I will give this a try and I'll let you know how I make out.
The technique is what I was going to ask you about.
Thanks again for weighing in and the advice.
As I've never tried this, the torch on titanium, (I've used one for other applications), I'm interested in seeing the results.
Stay safe, Joe (birdave in BF).
 
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