No passwords, No popups, No cost
we earn from your eBay & Amazon purchases

Home /
T.O.C.
Fun
FAQs
Good
Books
Ref.
Libr.
Adver-
tise
Help
Wanted
Current
Q&A's
Site 🔍
Search
curated with aloha by
ted_yosem
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
- Pine Beach, NJ
finishing.com -- The Home Page of the Finishing Industry


  pub
  The authoritative public forum
  for Metal Finishing since 1989

-----

Need titanium anodizer for multi-color sheets for kitchen cabinets

RFQ: Hi,
I am looking to find someone in the UK who could help me create multi-coloured anodised thin titanium sheet to use on cupboard door fronts and draws for a kitchen.

Finding the sheet isn't too tricky but decorative anodising on a small scale doesn't appear to be widely practised.

Any steers, contacts, suggestions or not overly technical advice would be much appreciated,

Thanks in advance Chris

Chris Bown
- London UK
August 1, 2024
    privately respond to this RFQ
Ed. note: As always, gentle readers: technical replies in public and commercial replies in private please (huh? why?)

A. Hi.

Fixed colors like pink, blue, purple, or green are obtained by anodizing for a fixed amount of time at the appropriate voltage for that color. Rainbow hues are obtained by dipping the sheet such that various areas are exposed to varying times and/or voltages. I believe that most titanium anodizing is done on small items like jewelry and pocket knives, and that you may have a hard time finding a production facility for sheets.

Please introduce your situation: if you are a homeowner wanting this for yourself, or an architect wanting it for one kitchen, it is not high-tech stuff, and a local artist could probably obtain tanks and get it going for you. However, if you are a cabinet manufacturer, I think you're probably going to need to set up your own production facility, or have one set up at a job shop for you.

Luck & Regards,

ted_yosem
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


Q. Thanks Ted appreciate your input.
It is both for my own home project, and as such - as a trial for my commercial office interiors design and build business, to prove the concept.

I understand the anodised coat is fairly thin, and can be subject to finger prints - any suggestions as to what best to use as a clear projective coat?

Also the shinier the sheet you start out with the shinier the result?

Best thing to Polish titanium sheet prior?

Thanks Chris

Chris Bown [returning]
- London
August 5, 2024


A. Hi Chris.

I am not certain that it can be coated with anything :-(

I would suggest anodizing a piece, or buying titanium knives or pieces of jewelry if easier, and trying various clear coats on them to see what they do to the colors before going any further. The problem is that the coloring is not a pigment of any sort, rather it's a partial wavelength thin-film interference coating...

Half of the light (or so) bounces off the outside surface of the anodizing; the other half passes thru the transparent titanium oxide anodized coating and bounces off the titanium base. Since half the light travels that extra distance, the interference means the reflected light offers diminution of some wavelengths and amplifications of others, i.e., some colors of the white light are enhanced and some are suppressed, creating the colors you see. When you add another clear layer on top of it, it's certain that it won't work as well. Whether it will work acceptably is hard to predict.

Yes, the shinier the surface before anodizing, the shinier after.

Luck & Regards,

ted_yosem
Ted Mooney, P.E. RET
Striving to live Aloha
finishing.com - Pine Beach, New Jersey


A. Probably it can be hardened in hot 2-5% sodium silicate solution (according to some patents that process can be used on anodized stainless steel -- I think that process must work on any color anodized metal). Hope it helps and good luck!

Budija Goran
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
September 9, 2024


A. I think that PVD is much better option (you can buy some PVD colored cutlery for testing ... Hope it helps and good luck!

61700-1

Goran Budija
- Cerovski vrh Croatia
September 22, 2024


A. Excellent article on use of PVD for jewelry(1996.!!!):
https://www.santafesymposium.org/1996-santa-fe-symposium-papers/1996-physical-vapor-deposition-of-decorative-coatings-for-jewelry

Hope it helps and good luck!

Goran Budija
- cerovski vrh Croatia
September 25, 2024




(No "dead threads" here! If this page isn't currently on the Hotline your Q, A, or Comment will restore it)

Q, A, or Comment on THIS thread -or- Start a NEW Thread

Disclaimer: It's not possible to fully diagnose a finishing problem or the hazards of an operation via these pages. All information presented is for general reference and does not represent a professional opinion nor the policy of an author's employer. The internet is largely anonymous & unvetted; some names may be fictitious and some recommendations might be harmful.

If you are seeking a product or service related to metal finishing, please check these Directories:

Finishing
Jobshops
Capital
Equipment
Chemicals &
Consumables
Consult'g,
& Software


About/Contact  -  Privacy Policy  -  ©1995-2024 finishing.com, Pine Beach, New Jersey, USA  -  about "affil links"