frame finish advice

[tri-Bob]

I'm looking for advice in Ti Frame finish. I've been using my Peter Mooney road bike for tri's but I'm finally taking the plunge and getting a tri-bike. After getting fitted at Fitwerx (great shop) I'm going with a Concours CS. Since transition areas aren't very bike friendly places, I figured for durability it would be best to go with the Ti finish and skip the paint. Any advantages matte vs. polished? Any other advice? I'll post a picture when the bike is done. BTW, my sister is riding my trusty 20 year old Nova for sprint tri's.

[coylifut]

If not, it can start looking like a stainless steel refrigerator after a gaggle of 6-yr-olds have been in and out of it.

[eddief]

First was bead blasted and the second is brushed. Both are quite durable, but the brushed is a bit brighter. Neither shows finger prints and both are easy to scotchbrite out minor blems. I hear and have seen that polished-to-a-mirror finished ti looks fine when shined and cleaned, but it is difficult to keep that way. I love the beauty of paint, but it's hard to compete with brushed ti for a piece of outdoor sports equipment.

[Michael Katz]

Serotta won't put just clearcoat on bare ti. Asked about it when deciding on the finish for my Ottrott. Reason is that the clearcoat that Serotta uses is formulated to go on top of paint. Won't adhere properly to bare metal.