Pimping suggestions please

[MadDaddy]

I just won a Bradley Alias-2 and want to do something with the handle slabs. They are Ti and I was thinking of a heat anodize or maybe just giving them a nice satin finish. I know we have some pimps here and any suggestions, pics and directions would be welcome.

 

[skunked]

Fuzzy dice, metallic paint, and zoot suits all work really well.

 

[STR]

It is much easier to use a few 9 volt batteries and some dish washing soap or even diet coke or pepsi to anodize titanium than to do it by heat. It is easier to control the color with the batteries. I made my own jumper cables using some scrap wire and alligator clips. Then tape three 9 volts to a table to secure them and then run the jumpers by connecting the first alligator clip to the positive on the first battery and the negative terminal on the second battery. Then take the next jumper and connect it to the postive of the second battery and to the negative on the third. Then place one more jumper on the first battery negative and the third battery postive.

Place a small piece of tape between each of the alligator clips on each battery to keep them from touching each other accidentally and then make sure not to allow the two working ends to touch. Place a small cut out of a pattern such as a star, or intials or some other design cut out of a paper towel on the titanium scrap you have to experiment with first. Soak the towel or pattern in the TSP (trisodium phosphate) solution, dish washing soap or coke and then place it where you want it on the titanium. Touch the postive to the titanium and or clip it down to hold the piece and then rub the negative one all over the pattern without moving the pattern all over the place. Just rub it where it sits and it will instantly turn a blue/purple color using three good 9 volt batteries..

Depending on the amount of voltage you run you can change the color but three is all I use. I've used as many as 7 and you could use as many as you wanted but after 50 volts you can actually shock the crap out of yourself so I would recommend not going too far with this method.

Wear safety glasses in the event that a battery pops because if the terminals do touch it can happen. Wear rubber gloves also.

I suggest reading this article here. It shows some of the things Popular Science did with this idea.

http://www.popsci.com/popsci/how20/3f178ca927d05010vgnvcm1000004eecbccdrcrd.html

STR

 

[warden41272]

Very nice post. I always wondered how that was done.

 

[MadDaddy]

Thanks for the info STR :thumbup: