How to do Black Finish on Titanium

  Anna, I feel like a jerk. I have seen your coating and will attest that it is black and very nice looking. I was replying to the nature of a durable coating. Again I may I have my foot in mouth. I think of the colors as not being durable, but failed ^^to test what I could have -- the sample you provided me with. Van, I suggest you look at Anna's coating; no one else that I know of has an appealing looking black coating like this.

Jon, we want to look at any test you've ran. Please provide more information.

Anna, That was a typo in my response (will I ever get my foot out of my mouth!) It should have said "I failed TO test what was in front of me." That is I did not test it for durability. I have cut up the samples you shared with me and provided them to a few key customers ... no feedback yet. As far as I know you folks are the only ones on the planet with this black anodize on titanium. Are you going to the MD&M show in Anaheim?

2003 Jon, tell me more about this show: where and when. As to Ti black: it can be matte if the initial surface is not polished, or bright if Ti is pre-polished before anodizing procedure. Anna Berkovich Russamer Lab Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania ^

A. You can give as undercoat acid nickel, later to burn the piece in a bath of black nickel (this offers great hardness) and to complete, if you wish, use furnace varnish.

A. Black matte finish can be obtained on titanium by proprietary titanium blackening technology. This is very new development, and so far the best dark black color (matter or bright) can be obtained on titanium grade 1-4. Other titanium alloy give dark-dark grey or light-black color. We are still working on improvements. Titanium blackening is formation of black oxide layer of 1-2 micron thickness, which is very durable and corrosion resistant.

A. PVD coating the part will be more than adequate for any of the constraints required by your customer.

A. You probably meant to say "more" rather than "less cost effective", David. The most "informal" process is paint of some type, but you haven't told us enough about the application to know if that has any merit. "Durable finish" probably means both wear resistant and corrosion resistant, right? But cost effectiveness almost always depends on size and shape and volume to be processed. Is this one single piece? How big is it? In short, what is the application? -- then we may be able to offer alternatives. Thanks.

A. Just paint it with 20% shellac solution(instead lacquer You can use any edible oil or fat, use it very sparingly),then heat it up to 400 °C (slowly). Cheap, simple and durable finish.

Good luck!

A. Like Ted said...not enough info given.
As for anodizing...I don't think it is possible to get a black on titanium. You can have titanium nitride coatings done but not actual hobby shop setup black anodizing. sometimes people will thermally treat niobium (heat to about 1500 and dip in water) to get beautiful hematite/black colors, or use aluminum and anodize with black dye(which will fade from UV exposure over years)and use these 2 materials in place of titanium, in the jewelry industry for example.
List more info and get more accurate help.

A. You can do black on titanium, but it is not common or easy. I believe letter 30989 addresses it.

A. Grade 1-4 titanium is anodized into matte or bright, depending on initial surface preparation. The surface is pretty durable. See photos 1,2, and 3 attached.

Grade 5 titanium is anodized always matte by the same method.

There is another possibility which is to AMS 2488 [affil. link to spec at Techstreet] anodize grade 5. Our method produces dark black and VERY durable surface without fur coat. Slightly beaten by glass beads -- will create the image of bright black (the very right valve on photo 4).

A. Oil your rings with linseed oil, but very very sparingly. Then heat them slowly to 300-400 °C (with hot air gun). Repeat it if needs. Age-old process, and very simple and cheap too. Hope it helps and good luck!