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Q&As since 1989
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Mirror Polish / Nitride Coating for Titanium Bicycle Frames
Q. My company produces Titanium Bicycle Frames. We are looking to elevate our finishing quality to something with a higher "mirror" like polish.
It is important that we do not use a process that is very abrasive, as we do not want to damage the tubing (3Al-2.5V 0.9mm thick) and we do not want to remove the aesthetic appeal of the weld bead at our tubing junctures.
We currently use some fine grade scotch brite, which is giving us a good finish, but not at the level we have seen other companies use.
Can someone please point me in the right direction? Is there a chemical means of polishing that could give us the desired finish?
I am also interested if anyone has any knowledge of using black nitride coating for tubing applications. I have only seen this on knife blades and such. Thanks for your help.
Sincerely,
Jamie Raddin- Springboro, Ohio
A. Jamie:
It has been over 10 years ago, but I worked with an Italian bike company to polish Titanium frames in a vibratory finishing process. They had vibratory tubs manufactured to allow fixturing of multiple frames within the processing tub. It processed frames after welding to full specular bright reflective finish.
Good Luck,
Bill Boatright- Morrisville, North Carolina
A. I don't know of any black nitride coatings. Titanium carbide is black, but titanium nitride is a yellow-gold. Titanium aluminum nitride is a dark purplish color. Some of the diamond-like coatings are black, but they are usually pretty costly. Good black coatings are not that easy to deposit by PVD, and titanium is a particularly difficult substrate -- it oxidizes too rapidly.
Jim Treglio - scwineryreview.com
PVD Consultant & Wine Lover - San Diego,
California
A. A knife company indicate they are using black titanium nitride on their Stainless Steel Blades. I'm not verifying that. Just pointing out some product info they're putting out. Tom
Tom Brooklyn- Brooklyn, New York USA
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