Polishing Ti

[Lionel]

I am thinking of a new Ti frame.

I am debating the finish. I would like the whole bike to be brushed and the name of the builder to be polished in some panel.

I have seen etching done on Ti frame (Lynskey for instance). I think I have also seen etching on full polished frame. But what about polishing on a brushed frame. Is that possible?

[dave thompson]

I am thinking of a new Ti frame.

I am debating the finish. I would like the whole bike to be brushed and the name of the builder to be polished in some panel.

I have seen etching done on Ti frame (Lynskey for instance). I think I have also seen etching on full polished frame. But what about polishing on a brushed frame. Is that possible?
Sure. Serotta does that on their Ti bikes. Here's a (poor) pic of my Hors Categories with a brushed finish and polished "decals".

http://img121.imageshack.us/img121/5030/decals.jpg (http://img121.imageshack.us/i/decals.jpg/)

[eddief]

but I would think the decal area could be polished first. Then a mask of the decal placed onto the polished area. Then the entire frame brushed around the masking. Then remove the masking and you have polished decals on a brushed frame.

As Dave said first.

[Lionel]

I chatted with Lynskey now. You can polish logo on a mate finish only.

Or etched logo on a brushed finish.

Polishing with brushed finish does not work.

The Serotta above is a mate finish (basically raw Ti).

[tuscanyswe]

I agree that photo does not look like what i mean with brushed Ti. Id call that a satin finish or raw i guess.

Does serotta call that brushed?

[Lionel]

I agree that photo does not look like what i mean with brushed Ti. Id call that a satin finish or raw i guess.

Does serotta call that brushed?
I think they call it mate.

[tuscanyswe]

I think they call it mate.

thx makes more sense.

Have you thought about polished with mate logos?
I really like this look. (i think a polished frame is much harder to keep clean than a brushed one)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4586774874_11b02391a8_o.jpg

[eddief]

i think raw ti tubes are dull and smooth.

matte refers to a degree of being blasted with one medium or another. the evenness of this finish makes it more difficult to buff out scratches.

polished is an absolutely smooth and shiny finish - think finger prints.

brushed is usually done by hand or machine with something like a 3M scotch brite - basically evenly scratching the ti all over. less prone to finger prints and easily maintained by the owner with scotch brite.

how about a brushed frame, with matte/blasted panels, and polished decals?

[Blue Jays]

Select your titanium finish and then clearcoat it for real ease-of-maintenance.

[David Kirk]

I agree that photo does not look like what i mean with brushed Ti. Id call that a satin finish or raw i guess.

Does serotta call that brushed?

It's a glass bead blast actually.

dave

[Lionel]

thx makes more sense.

Have you thought about polished with mate logos?
I really like this look. (i think a polished frame is much harder to keep clean than a brushed one)

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4033/4586774874_11b02391a8_o.jpg
I have thought of that but a buddy of mine used to have a completely polished Vortex and it was not that easy to keep clean and would mark. I used to have a brushed Litespeed a long time ago and maintenance was pretty much 0. Which I like.

Given that it's not possible to polish a logo on a brushed finish, I am thinking of etching panels on brushed or even painted panels on brushed.

[Lionel]

BTW, I am not quite sure that the finish Serotta calls polished is really polished (mirror type look). It looks more brushed to me.

[benb]

There seem to have been multiple levels available.. definitely more then 2.

My Serotta is not the "dark" brushed/blasted finish but it is also not mirror shiny..

I don't think you want mirror shiny.. (PITA)

I liked the darker one Serotta used to do.. I kind of wish I'd gotten that one even though it is harder to maintain.

Interestingly enough, I changed my decals last month.. the finish has faded in some very subtle way in 3 years. It's a little shinier where the decals were.

[Lionel]

There seem to have been multiple levels available.. definitely more then 2.

My Serotta is not the "dark" brushed/blasted finish but it is also not mirror shiny..

I don't think you want mirror shiny.. (PITA)

I liked the darker one Serotta used to do.. I kind of wish I'd gotten that one even though it is harder to maintain.

Interestingly enough, I changed my decals last month.. the finish has faded in some very subtle way in 3 years. It's a little shinier where the decals were.
I sent them a note. I really want to stay away from decals completely.

[Lionel]

here is an example of a bare Ti with mirror polished logo:
http://www.titusti.com/2010/bikes/fireline.php

[tuscanyswe]

Well the legend cx i posted a pic of is definetly polished. It was absolutely impossible to keep clean .)

[benb]

I really wish I had stayed away from decals as well but the new Serotta decals are WAY better then the old ones. Much thicker/stronger 3M automotive decals.. I applied them myself and since my bike is discontinued they had sent me one of the old decals as well.. no contest, the new ones are so much stronger I didn't have any trouble applying them at all, the old one just fell apart and I had to just skip it.

They went on nice and easy and I think they are going to last a lot longer.. so decals on a bare 2010 Ti frame may not be much of a big deal.

One of these days I will put a new picture up.. I went with white decals w/black border and it looks really nice. (They used to be red decals with black border)

[Ozz]

BTW, I am not quite sure that the finish Serotta calls polished is really polished (mirror type look). It looks more brushed to me.
The Serotta "polish" is not a mirror finish. It looks pretty nice though and is very easy to keep looking new.

My Legend is polished with matte logos....take a look.

:beer:

[Jeff N.]

Brushed with Matte logos is do-able. I think that'd be the way to go. Jeff N. (With Serotta, what they call "polished" is more like "brushed". When I think polished, I think mirror-like...like you can comb your hair in it.)

[eddief]

even here it is not clear about matte/satin, polish, brush.

but the blasting i think gives matte/satin, scotch brite gives brushed, and still not sure how you get to mirror polish. to get to mirror, i would guess the tubes are cleaned or maybe given a very light blast and then attacked with polishing wheel and compound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5unshxWAKI

[victoryfactory]

Makers have very different versions of what they
consider matte, brushed and polished.
For example the classic Litespeed brushed was very close to the
Serotta polished, and the Serotta matte was too rough for my taste.
The Litespeed polish is (was) a real mirror finish too intense, imo. Lynskey now does an
"industrial mill" finish that is sort of brushed with stray swirl marks in the finish

The point of my ramble:

You need to see the finish close up to really tell what you have. There is no
standard lingo to go by. For me, I like a finely brushed finish best, not too
shiny, but fine enough to not collect dirt and be hard to clean (like a blasted finish IMO)

Engraved Ti bikes like Merlin are way cool too.

fwiw

VF