kootenay joe wrote:I have no idea of how to anodize, and i don't know what it means. Is there a cathodize ?
Regardless, i think you have talent and a sense of artistry.
kj
Gonna drop some science here, so it might get a bit techinical:
Titanium is an interesting metal, and one of it's fun properties is how it oxidizes. Instead of something like how steel rusts, titanium forms a thin layer of clear titanium oxide on the surface of the metal. This clear layer absorbs and refracts light at different wavelengths based on it's thickness. Naturally occurring titanium oxidization doesn't produce a very thick layer, so the metal still appears grey, but if you artificially oxidize the material you can build up a thicker layer, and due to the increased thickness, change the wavelength of light refracted, making the titanium appear to the human eye as a variety of colors.
How this is done is one of two ways - heat, or electricity. Simply hitting a piece of titanium with a torch will cause it to oxidize, and give you colors ranging from golds to deep purples and blues - Here is an example of one of my titanium "Bottlesnapper" multitools that I've hit with a torch to give it some color:
Now, coloring titanium with a torch does not give you much control over coloration, it's imprecise nature also dulls the colors and limits the spectrum you can reach.
Electricity however, can give you plenty of options. The general setup is like this: You have a container of electrolyte solution (in my case, I use water with some Tri Sodium Phosphate mixed in) You have a DC power supply. the negative lead on the power supply connects to a cathode with a greater surface area than your work piece (in my case, I use an "accordion" folded sheet of titanium - Lotta surface area in a small space) that is submerged into your electrolyte solution. The positive lead on your supply connects to the work piece. submerge the work piece into the solution (don't touch the cathode, because if you do you're not anodizing anymore, you're welding
) The voltage you run through the loop determines what visible "color" you get on your titanium.
The consistent, repeatable voltage gives you very fine control over color, and a much wider spectrum to work with. By changing the voltage as you move the work piece in and out of the electrolyte solution, or using masking materials like nail polish, vinyl, etc you can get color fades, or some really fun effects by preventing the liquid electrolyte from touching parts of the workpiece. Examples would be my lizard pattern above, or some of these guys:
