Heat annodizing Titanium?

[cpirtle]

I've heard people make reference to heating Titanium to annodize it.

Could someone shed some light on how this is done?

Is the finish durable?

I have some small titanium parts I'd like to play with annodizing and this sounds like it may be an easier way than using chemicals and blowing myself up

 

[Peter Atwood]

What you want do is sand or polish them to where you get a shine. At least 320 grit or better. Wipe fingerprints off with windex before coloring. Then you simply take a propane clicker torch and heat the piece slowly and watch for a color change. Usually I hold it with a pair of pliers. It's really fun to watch the colors dance across the piece as you're heating it. First you get gold, then bronze which almost immediately changes to purple. Then you get that deep rich blue for a moment or two before it starts going silvery blue and goldish. The pliers act as a heat sink and so you will have to touch up where you were holding the item afterwards but no big deal.

Often the color will be spotty with that kind of heat source and a very hot oven or small kiln might give you better control although I have not tried that approach myself. One thing is for sure, the heat induced colors are somewhat more durable than the anodized ones, just not as easily repeatable. Try it, you'll have a blast.

One more thing, you can quench the piece in water at any time to stop the process.

 

[cpirtle]

Thanks for the info Peter!

I will try it out and let you know how it goes, I have some titanium pocket clips on the way I'll be playing with