Remove DLC Coating

[Will B Hard]

I have a fixed blade ZT 0121 that has scratches on the coating, would someone know a shop that would remove the coating and produce a blackwash or stonewash finish

 

[Eversion]

Are you sure it's scratched? That stuff is significantly harder than the blade itself. The vast majority of the time, it's just particulate from whatever you've been cutting that look like scratches. The stuff can be stubborn to clean, though.

 

[Big Ol’ Hauger]

From what I understand, removing DLC involves a lot of elbow grease. I’ve stripped Beckers, ESEEs, and may do a Busse soon, but those are pretty simple. Nail polish remover and something to scrape the coating with work fine. The DLC coating is actually (molecularly?) bonded to the steel. It would require a lot of sanding to get that stuff off. I had to look up your model to see what it looked like. It’s got a lot of different curves, bevels, and angles on it. That would make for a whole lot more work. You could probably do it yourself if you want to put the time into it. You can get PCB etchant on eBay for a few bucks to acid wash your blade after it’s stripped. Or you can just embrace the DLC for what it is. There’s nothing wrong with some “beauty” marks on a knife you use. BTW: I hate DLC coating! Lol!

 

[DocJD]

Might try just cleaning / polishing with a good metal polish .

Worked for me !

 

[Will B Hard]

Many thanks for the info given, the knife is at present in the USA and will be sent to Asia so i was just checking on some options before i have it sent. I am now considering just using a metal polish when it arrives and hope i can make some improvement. I have only observed the ZT 0121 in DLC so i assume this was the only option when they were manufactured.