[Closed] buffing a titanium frame

Polishing Ti requires a lot of elbow grease. It is also really dirty.

Basically get the hardest polishing soap you can get your hands on and go at it with the toughest polishing cloth/drill pad you can.

I polished flames into mine and it took about three weeks of evenings with a dremel.

Have a look on Youtube there is a video of [i]Kent Erikson titanium frames[/i]; where they bead blast the whole frame, then polish a smallish area put some (decals) indiviual letters on then blast that area again to have the name in contrast in shiny metal and the rest of the frame matt.
Bead blasting is possibly a way of stress relieving (reducing the risk of surface cracks developing) the frame. Polishing a frame that has been bead blasted (might) will remove the benefits (if any) of having had it beadblasted.

Brillo pads, Autosol and lots and lots of elbow grease. I used a sander first off after it was bead blasted to smooth it. I was off work at the time with 1 broken arm, but I would never do it myself again.

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It would take a lot of hard work to get a even coat over the frame. And its one of those once you started there no going back kind of jobs.

Had mine polished professionally. It took him 1 day and cost me £70

[img] http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yja0kb&outx=800&quality=70 [/img]

Although opinion varies on the effectiveness of bead blast versus shot blast
http://www.ifbikes.com/?id=40&keepThis=true&TB_iframe=true&height=400&width=500

Duraglit

where do you find "professional polishers"!?

Ah, Ken, I thought you might pop up on this subject! 🙂

Did you find that the polish scuffed at all?

...and after reading that IF page, I want my Soda shot peened!

scruzer - Member
Duraglit

Would take you about a million years with that

captaindanger - Member
where do you find "professional polishers"!?

Yellow Pages under metal polishers (they don't all do Ti tho' as you need special polishing mops because the metal is so hard in comparison to aluminium)

Mine did lightly scuff after a while but nothing that couldn't be easily polished out

Ken which part of the country is the guy who polished yours in please?

IF recommend shot, even though shot blasting is normally considered far too aggresive for a bike frame. Vapour blast is maybe a better choice.

Bead blasting is possibly a way of stress relieving (reducing the risk of surface cracks developing) the frame. Polishing a frame that has been bead blasted (might) will remove the benefits (if any) of having had it beadblasted.

Although polishing has its own advantages which may be better than blasting. I did some research on this in the 90's and there has since been loads more done. I actually think if you blast then polish you will have the best fatigue resistant finish.

I live in Milton Keynes so it will be near to here coz I remember going in the evening after work and it wasn't that far but I can't remember exactly. I'll have a look through stuff when I get in and see if I can find out. If I was you I'd start by looking in the yellow pages