I tried my first attempt at anodizing ti today without much success. I had ti liners for a lockback approx. .100 thick, clean and sanded to 600 grit ready to go. I wanted to get a blue or blueish green so I set the voltage to 75 volts. I was thinking that a minute or two would do the job but nothing much happened. I ended up leaving the anodizer on for 30 minutes. The TSP solution eventually heated up enough to melt and distort the plastic jar and my ti liner had nothing but a very faint blueish green color barely visible. Anybody have any suggestions on what I did wrong or how to make this work better. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Dave
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Help with Anodizing
- Thread starter Diggerdog
- Start date
Digger,
A couple of things, you passed up blue if you went to 75 volts. I can get blue at around 18-20 volts. At 75 volts you should see a gold or purple. My anodizer will work almost immediately. 1 or 2 minutes on really small votage anodizers should be plenty of time.
I usually sand the titanium and then clean it thoroughly with windex w/ ammonia and immediately put it into the TSP for anodizing. Don't let it set out in the air too long or the colors won't appear as well. (the surface will oxidize and inhibit anodizing). I know some guys here use multi-etch, from Reactive Metals, to get better colors.
Sand down the ti again with a very fine sandpaper or scotchbrite and try it again, but this time try approx. 18 volts then take it out and dry it for a look. Go slow with the voltage changes, you'll get variations in the colors with small adjustments in voltage.
That's the nice thing with anodizing, if it is not to your liking, resand and do it again.
Kelly
A couple of things, you passed up blue if you went to 75 volts. I can get blue at around 18-20 volts. At 75 volts you should see a gold or purple. My anodizer will work almost immediately. 1 or 2 minutes on really small votage anodizers should be plenty of time.
I usually sand the titanium and then clean it thoroughly with windex w/ ammonia and immediately put it into the TSP for anodizing. Don't let it set out in the air too long or the colors won't appear as well. (the surface will oxidize and inhibit anodizing). I know some guys here use multi-etch, from Reactive Metals, to get better colors.
Sand down the ti again with a very fine sandpaper or scotchbrite and try it again, but this time try approx. 18 volts then take it out and dry it for a look. Go slow with the voltage changes, you'll get variations in the colors with small adjustments in voltage.
That's the nice thing with anodizing, if it is not to your liking, resand and do it again.
Kelly
fitzo
Gold Member
- Joined
- Aug 14, 2001
- Messages
- 6,648
I agree with Kelly. The coloring should happen essentially immediately. Seconds usually.
Make sure the opposite electrode is as large or larger than the piece you're coloring. Use titanium. (That means one or the other should color some, in case you have the leads bass ackwards. "Voice of experience."
)
Do you have "store bought" Ti so you know the alloy for sure?
TSP concentration can have a lot of effect. You'll have to experiment with your own unit to find the best.
Peter Atwood sells an excellent video to get you going.
Make sure the opposite electrode is as large or larger than the piece you're coloring. Use titanium. (That means one or the other should color some, in case you have the leads bass ackwards. "Voice of experience."
)Do you have "store bought" Ti so you know the alloy for sure?
TSP concentration can have a lot of effect. You'll have to experiment with your own unit to find the best.
Peter Atwood sells an excellent video to get you going.
Thanks very much for the advice guys. I'll give it another try on Monday. Fitz the Ti is store bought so that shouldn't be the problem. I'll try to track down the vid you mentioned to add to my collection. Next to the forum I think the videos can be a great rescource. I'll follow the advice given and try again. I'll let you know how it works out. Thanks guys. Dave
Don Robinson
BANNED
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2003
- Messages
- 355
Dave, one thing that might cause the problem you're having is this:
Your cathode must have more surface area than the anode (the liners).
I have my glass gallon jar lined all the way around with SS heat treat foil. I cut it so that a tab sticks up past the lip of the jar. I clamp the lead to that.
Inside the ss foil is a layer of the rubberized shelf liner so the anode can't touch the foil.
It sounds like whatever you're using for a cathode is too small.
Set up properly your part should start coloring immediately after putting current to it.
Your cathode must have more surface area than the anode (the liners).
I have my glass gallon jar lined all the way around with SS heat treat foil. I cut it so that a tab sticks up past the lip of the jar. I clamp the lead to that.
Inside the ss foil is a layer of the rubberized shelf liner so the anode can't touch the foil.
It sounds like whatever you're using for a cathode is too small.
Set up properly your part should start coloring immediately after putting current to it.
Hi Don. Thanks for the info. Right now the liners definately have more surface area than the cathode. That could easily be the problem. I will change that and give it a try again on Monday. I really appreciate the information. A great weekend to all. Dave