- Joined
- May 2, 2013
- Messages
- 1,711
Bear with me as I don't usually do these. I'll try to hit the high points and not skip steps... But if I miss something just ask and I'll try to clarify.
Going for my best Bob Ross here, sans the 'Happy little trees....'
We have been doing a lot of our dusters lately trying to catch up, so that's what you will see following. If you are interested in something further, check out our website, our subforum, or the sales thread here on BF.
This is what we are after...
If you aren't keen on the brighter colors, just bear in mind this follows the tried and true 'v=color' spectrum. Dull shades are doable as long as you stick around the 20-30v range.
Before hand, we will be playing with high voltage DC electricity, metal, and electrolytic fluids. If you have a benchtop power supply of the lab variety, keep the amperage down. No need for it and all you will do is hurt yourself and burn things. If you choose to daisychain 9v batteries as is the standard for most first timers, just buy some cheapos. You'll fry em soon anyway, and the better the battery the more amperage they're usually capable of, thus more heat. Do not use Lithium batteries. Shorting a Lithium battery of any variety is always a bad idea...
So first of all, your Ti needs to be clean and shiny. I start with raw stock, which is then hand ground, tumbled, sandblasted and then wire brushed to give a nice bare surface that takes color well. (You can get some cool flip/flop colors if you sandblast titanium and knock the surface down unidirectionally then color with heat... But I'll save that for another day if there is any interest...)
You will need aluminum foil, wires with gator clips either on both ends if doing the 9v battery thing or on the leads from the power supply if you have one. I use saltwater with just a touch of vinegar in it for my electrolytic solution. And for a paintbrush, I use the cheap 'acid' brushes as they have a solid metal tube and come in big packs for a few bucks.
You will need to cut the bristles down so they don't have to carry a huge bead of liquid to pass current. Biggest thing is to make sure they are even so you don't have any wierd flyers.
Set your aluminum foil out flat. I've found crinkling it a bit helps make multiple points of contact while allowing excess liquid to run away etc. The positive lead goes to the aluminum foil mat. The negative lead goes to the metal band behind the bristles or the metal stem of your brush. Just make sure there is a clear path to the brush head and fluid.
Dip the brush in liquid and just start painting however you please... I usually start with low voltage and cover the entire piece in shades of the more gold tones. Then go up in voltage from there.
You will get some bubbling and some heat... If not you have a disconnect somewhere. Again, this is why lower amperage is a good idea. As are rubber gloves. Electricity follows the path of least resistance. So you can play around with higher voltage allowing the solution and distance from the brush to create some neat effects. If done in lines like shown, you will see the center of the strokes get a nice blue color and the shades follow the gradient the further they are from the brush.
And that's pretty much it. I clean off titanium with glass plus once it is done being colored. I've found it does a good job and something about the ammonia gives the colors a little extra pop... All kinds of neat effects are possible if you play around. You can leave open areas and use heat to fill them in, etc etc.
Some examples below...
And my recent absolute favorite.... We call it the 'Tron' effect...
Have fun with it. We use heat and electricity with Titanium all the time. Matte finishes can be achieved by using a sandblasted surface. You can mask areas off if you like, etc. Just because you can't afford the $100 per square inch Timascus or Mokuti doesn't mean you have to settle for monotone...
Cheers!
-Eric
Overmountain Knife and Tool
Overmountain.us.com
Going for my best Bob Ross here, sans the 'Happy little trees....'
We have been doing a lot of our dusters lately trying to catch up, so that's what you will see following. If you are interested in something further, check out our website, our subforum, or the sales thread here on BF.
This is what we are after...
If you aren't keen on the brighter colors, just bear in mind this follows the tried and true 'v=color' spectrum. Dull shades are doable as long as you stick around the 20-30v range.
Before hand, we will be playing with high voltage DC electricity, metal, and electrolytic fluids. If you have a benchtop power supply of the lab variety, keep the amperage down. No need for it and all you will do is hurt yourself and burn things. If you choose to daisychain 9v batteries as is the standard for most first timers, just buy some cheapos. You'll fry em soon anyway, and the better the battery the more amperage they're usually capable of, thus more heat. Do not use Lithium batteries. Shorting a Lithium battery of any variety is always a bad idea...
So first of all, your Ti needs to be clean and shiny. I start with raw stock, which is then hand ground, tumbled, sandblasted and then wire brushed to give a nice bare surface that takes color well. (You can get some cool flip/flop colors if you sandblast titanium and knock the surface down unidirectionally then color with heat... But I'll save that for another day if there is any interest...)
You will need aluminum foil, wires with gator clips either on both ends if doing the 9v battery thing or on the leads from the power supply if you have one. I use saltwater with just a touch of vinegar in it for my electrolytic solution. And for a paintbrush, I use the cheap 'acid' brushes as they have a solid metal tube and come in big packs for a few bucks.
You will need to cut the bristles down so they don't have to carry a huge bead of liquid to pass current. Biggest thing is to make sure they are even so you don't have any wierd flyers.
Set your aluminum foil out flat. I've found crinkling it a bit helps make multiple points of contact while allowing excess liquid to run away etc. The positive lead goes to the aluminum foil mat. The negative lead goes to the metal band behind the bristles or the metal stem of your brush. Just make sure there is a clear path to the brush head and fluid.
Dip the brush in liquid and just start painting however you please... I usually start with low voltage and cover the entire piece in shades of the more gold tones. Then go up in voltage from there.
You will get some bubbling and some heat... If not you have a disconnect somewhere. Again, this is why lower amperage is a good idea. As are rubber gloves. Electricity follows the path of least resistance. So you can play around with higher voltage allowing the solution and distance from the brush to create some neat effects. If done in lines like shown, you will see the center of the strokes get a nice blue color and the shades follow the gradient the further they are from the brush.
And that's pretty much it. I clean off titanium with glass plus once it is done being colored. I've found it does a good job and something about the ammonia gives the colors a little extra pop... All kinds of neat effects are possible if you play around. You can leave open areas and use heat to fill them in, etc etc.
Some examples below...
And my recent absolute favorite.... We call it the 'Tron' effect...
Have fun with it. We use heat and electricity with Titanium all the time. Matte finishes can be achieved by using a sandblasted surface. You can mask areas off if you like, etc. Just because you can't afford the $100 per square inch Timascus or Mokuti doesn't mean you have to settle for monotone...
Cheers!
-Eric
Overmountain Knife and Tool
Overmountain.us.com
