Titanium question...

carl_p

What's the natural colour of titanium, is it the shiny silver or the duller grey? Is either easier to maintain, e.g. does the silver dull over time?

father_jack

Titanium instantly reacts with oxygen in the atmoshere to form a layer of titanium oxide on the surface if the metal. This acts as a barrier preventing it form reactinbg further with its surroundings. therefore, preventing tarnishing. althougth this layer is itself a tarnish. The surface will be slightly darker than a freshly exposed surface.

markos1963

Thinking of a change are we Carl?

carl_p

markos1963 wrote:

Thinking of a change are we Carl?

Yes (although don't tell her in-doors).

Van Nicholas are shiny, Sabbath aren't - seems to be causing me a dilemma.

carl_p

Father Jack wrote:

Titanium instantly reacts with oxygen in the atmoshere to form a layer of titanium oxide on the surface if the metal. This acts as a barrier preventing it form reactinbg further with its surroundings. therefore, preventing tarnishing. althougth this layer is itself a tarnish. The surface will be slightly darker than a freshly exposed surface.

Does this mean both have a clearcoat to prevent further oxidisation?

cougie

I have a Titanium wedding ring - thats been on me 24/7 for 16 years now - it started off a dull grey but now its more of a shiny silver

edhornby

some are brushed, some are full on polished

ride_whenever

IIRC the lynskey that are mirror polished are then clearcoated. The satin/raw finishes aren't.

Personally if I was buying Ti i'd be looking for satin because it doesn't show scratches (or you can just buff them out with scotchbrite)

flasher

Carl_P wrote:

Van Nicholas are shiny, Sabbath aren't - seems to be causing me a dilemma.

VN's have a brushed finish which is very easy to look after 8)

markos1963

Go bling Carl

Monty Dog

Either - my titanium Colnago is polished and lacquered whereas my Xi'an is vapour-blasted / matt. Once polished, it doesn't take much to restore the lustre. High stress parts are vapour-blasted e.g. on aircraft as it helps reduce the risk of stress fatigue cracking. If polished / lacquered it needs to be pretty good, cos the lacquer doesn't adhere that well to the polished surface - I had my Colnago refinished by Atlantic Boulevard.

solboy

Polished looks great but it would worry me as it must be a delecate finish. The brushed finish on a Van Nic is great as you can buff it up yourself and when the bike is cleaned with a little WD40 it looks amazing. Personally i dont like the grey sabbath finish.

pottssteve

The Lynsky style mirror finish looks more bling but harder to look after, I guess.

VN are satin finish for a more stealth look and easier care. VN frames are brushed, with no clearcoat. I'm test-riding a Chinook at the moment in order to review it soon - early indications are favourable! 8)

Steve

Monty Dog

Polished ti is pretty easy to maintain - a quick rub down with a baby wipe is all you need.

milleman

Just bought a Van Nicholas Zephyr-all VN bikes have a brushed finish,recently managed to very carefully remove a light scratch on the rear frame by using a worn bit of 400 grade wet and dry-matched the original finish perfectly.

Looked at Sabbath and Enigma bikes before I bought the VN-they both do a multitude of finishes as an extra from bead blasted to mirror finish.

wyattlad

The new 2011 Cube Litening HT looks prettycool.