Black Titanium Finish
A discussion started in 2003 and continuing through 2017 . . .
(2003)Q. What if any black hard durable finish that looks good can we get for our Titanium air tube assemblies?
Van Jacobian air-gun mfgr - Dallas, Texas
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(2003)
A. I think the closest you are going to get on titanium is a very dark color, no true black like a dyed anodized aluminum. We offer a hard, wear resistant, very dark color on titanium. (AMS 2488 [link by ed. to spec at TechStreet]D) Jon Quirt- Fridley, Minnesota (2003) A. No problem. Please see the picture of durable black Ti anodizing coating. 
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(2003)
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, your 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.
- Fridley, Minnesota
(2003)
Jon, we need to look at the test you've ran. Please provide more information.
Russamer Labs
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
(2003)
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?
Jon Quirt- Fridley, Minnesota
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(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. Russamer Labs Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
(2003)
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.
ivanoguera [last name deleted for privacy by Editor]UNIVERSIDAD - MEDELLIN-ANTIOQUIA-COLOMBIA
May 25, 2017
Q. I'm wondering if there are any updates to this now 14 year old thread. An ebay search for "black titanium bolts" yields hundreds of matches, many costing less than $2. They are mainly grade 5 titanium. So there must be a simple (read cheap) process for black coating titanium. As far as I can tell, this rules out PVD and electroplating. I've seen videos where parts are heated red hot and dipped in WD40 or something similar. But that seems unlikely for bolts. Can anyone tell me how these parts are being finished? I'm thinking in terms of an anodizing type process using an unusual electrolyte or maybe the cold black oxide (actually copper selenium) process for steel but this is just wild speculation.
William VynHazards Testing Company - Santa Barbara, California
May 26, 2017
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 anodize grade 5. Our method produces dark black and VERY durable surface without fur coat. Slightly beaten by glass beans -- will create the image of bright black (the very right valve on photo 4).
Russamer Labs
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania