Custom anodized Titanium goodness
Were you around the edison/newbrunswick/highland park area yesterday?
I saw a WW X with a noticeably loud exhaust going down 27 south while walking to a friends house. Thought you might've been the WW X from turbotrix but I saw florida plates. If that was you, nice ride man.
I saw a WW X with a noticeably loud exhaust going down 27 south while walking to a friends house. Thought you might've been the WW X from turbotrix but I saw florida plates. If that was you, nice ride man.
Beetle, I dont think they are TI.... My guess is that its stainless or aluminum with a TI-like finish... Since the OP mentioned "anodized", my guess is Aluminum but Ill let the OP chime in on this since I would like to know the actual material these pipes are made of.
BUMP!
BUMP!
Beetle, I dont think they are TI.... My guess is that its stainless or aluminum with a TI-like finish... Since the OP mentioned "anodized", my guess is Aluminum but Ill let the OP chime in on this since I would like to know the actual material these pipes are made of.
BUMP!
BUMP!
It is Grade 2 titanium piping, anodized...same way ARC, Amuse, Zeal and all the top JDM brands color their titanium.
Anodizing creates a thin oxide layer on the metal that refracts light and produces vibrant colors. If you would like to know more, please google
I am sorry, I cannot divulge my exact method because we will be producing and selling these, but you can find lots of information online. It took me weeks of research to perfect my technique, and I am still learning.
Last edited by 617G; Oct 16, 2009 at 07:08 AM.
Can I divulge your exact method then?
Long story short, it's an alkaline liquid and an electrical current in varying voltages (resistance stays the same, so the varying voltage actually varies the current which is what causes the build-up of an oxide layer). Long story semi-long, different voltages = different colors. Start with the lower voltage color wherever you want that color, then work your way through the voltages/colors in other areas. If you overlap the areas of lower voltage with the higher voltage color and didn't mean to... goodbye original plan. Only option from that point is to buff the oxide layer off and start over, or change up the color scheme you originally planned.
There's different methods to do this, you can submerge only the area you want anodized and send a current through the entire thing, where only the submerged portion gets the oxide layer, or you can constantly send the current through the entire piece and paint on the alkaline (highly alkaline, like 13+ pH) liquid in the areas you want the oxide layer to develop. "Paint" on too much and you can get the alkaline liquid to run, and anything in its path gets colored whatever voltage you're working with and it'll resemble paint drips from overspray
A common alkaline is Tri-Sodium Phosphate. The reason for the different colors is because higher voltages make a thicker oxide layer. The thicker oxide layer reflects a different color in the light spectrum. You cannot get a red color, but you can get pink.
If you're selling these, I wouldn't worry about DIY'ers because even if they buy everything you need and start doing this themselves, their inexperience will make hours and hours of frustration for them and they'll realize how you came about the price point you eventually offer these for, and probably buy from you anyways
Long story short, it's an alkaline liquid and an electrical current in varying voltages (resistance stays the same, so the varying voltage actually varies the current which is what causes the build-up of an oxide layer). Long story semi-long, different voltages = different colors. Start with the lower voltage color wherever you want that color, then work your way through the voltages/colors in other areas. If you overlap the areas of lower voltage with the higher voltage color and didn't mean to... goodbye original plan. Only option from that point is to buff the oxide layer off and start over, or change up the color scheme you originally planned.
There's different methods to do this, you can submerge only the area you want anodized and send a current through the entire thing, where only the submerged portion gets the oxide layer, or you can constantly send the current through the entire piece and paint on the alkaline (highly alkaline, like 13+ pH) liquid in the areas you want the oxide layer to develop. "Paint" on too much and you can get the alkaline liquid to run, and anything in its path gets colored whatever voltage you're working with and it'll resemble paint drips from overspray
A common alkaline is Tri-Sodium Phosphate. The reason for the different colors is because higher voltages make a thicker oxide layer. The thicker oxide layer reflects a different color in the light spectrum. You cannot get a red color, but you can get pink.
If you're selling these, I wouldn't worry about DIY'ers because even if they buy everything you need and start doing this themselves, their inexperience will make hours and hours of frustration for them and they'll realize how you came about the price point you eventually offer these for, and probably buy from you anyways
This is a beginner's guide, which is correct, but my trial and error has led me to refine my methods so yes, you are correct. While this guide is pretty good, the exact solution I came up with is a bit different. It also depends on the Grade of titanium...Grade 5, 9 or Commercially Pure..they will all get different results and you will have to experiment with which solution on which purity of titanium gets the most vibrant colors Then you'll need to figure out how to weld Ti properly lol.Can I divulge your exact method then?
Long story short, it's an alkaline liquid and an electrical current in varying voltages (resistance stays the same, so the varying voltage actually varies the current which is what causes the build-up of an oxide layer). Long story semi-long, different voltages = different colors. Start with the lower voltage color wherever you want that color, then work your way through the voltages/colors in other areas. If you overlap the areas of lower voltage with the higher voltage color and didn't mean to... goodbye original plan. Only option from that point is to buff the oxide layer off and start over, or change up the color scheme you originally planned.
There's different methods to do this, you can submerge only the area you want anodized and send a current through the entire thing, where only the submerged portion gets the oxide layer, or you can constantly send the current through the entire piece and paint on the alkaline (highly alkaline, like 13+ pH) liquid in the areas you want the oxide layer to develop. "Paint" on too much and you can get the alkaline liquid to run, and anything in its path gets colored whatever voltage you're working with and it'll resemble paint drips from overspray
A common alkaline is Tri-Sodium Phosphate. The reason for the different colors is because higher voltages make a thicker oxide layer. The thicker oxide layer reflects a different color in the light spectrum. You cannot get a red color, but you can get pink.
If you're selling these, I wouldn't worry about DIY'ers because even if they buy everything you need and start doing this themselves, their inexperience will make hours and hours of frustration for them and they'll realize how you came about the price point you eventually offer these for, and probably buy from you anyways
Long story short, it's an alkaline liquid and an electrical current in varying voltages (resistance stays the same, so the varying voltage actually varies the current which is what causes the build-up of an oxide layer). Long story semi-long, different voltages = different colors. Start with the lower voltage color wherever you want that color, then work your way through the voltages/colors in other areas. If you overlap the areas of lower voltage with the higher voltage color and didn't mean to... goodbye original plan. Only option from that point is to buff the oxide layer off and start over, or change up the color scheme you originally planned.
There's different methods to do this, you can submerge only the area you want anodized and send a current through the entire thing, where only the submerged portion gets the oxide layer, or you can constantly send the current through the entire piece and paint on the alkaline (highly alkaline, like 13+ pH) liquid in the areas you want the oxide layer to develop. "Paint" on too much and you can get the alkaline liquid to run, and anything in its path gets colored whatever voltage you're working with and it'll resemble paint drips from overspray
A common alkaline is Tri-Sodium Phosphate. The reason for the different colors is because higher voltages make a thicker oxide layer. The thicker oxide layer reflects a different color in the light spectrum. You cannot get a red color, but you can get pink.
If you're selling these, I wouldn't worry about DIY'ers because even if they buy everything you need and start doing this themselves, their inexperience will make hours and hours of frustration for them and they'll realize how you came about the price point you eventually offer these for, and probably buy from you anyways
Commercially pure grade 2 is all you'd need. For these applications there's no need for anything else...
It will be trial and error though, trying different solutions of TSP and different methods of "painting" on the alkaline... I believe you can even use an acidic solution to get thinner oxide layers, but again that'd be more trial and error.
If I was a die-hard fan of titanium goodies, I'd take a shot at it and pay my brother to do all the welding. Since I don't care for titanium, I'm not gonna waste hours and hours learning what you've already learned on your own
If I can't find an inconel exhaust tip, I might get a hold of you to buy some kind of titanium tip... are you up for custom orders? I can't imagine you'd keep stock of much 3-4" tubing...?
It will be trial and error though, trying different solutions of TSP and different methods of "painting" on the alkaline... I believe you can even use an acidic solution to get thinner oxide layers, but again that'd be more trial and error.
If I was a die-hard fan of titanium goodies, I'd take a shot at it and pay my brother to do all the welding. Since I don't care for titanium, I'm not gonna waste hours and hours learning what you've already learned on your own
If I can't find an inconel exhaust tip, I might get a hold of you to buy some kind of titanium tip... are you up for custom orders? I can't imagine you'd keep stock of much 3-4" tubing...?
heat does the same thing, but in a different way...that's why Ti welds turn colors...it's from the oxidation. You first need to understand what an oxide layer is, how it's formed and what it does
Last edited by 617G; Oct 16, 2009 at 08:38 AM.
