heat colouring Ti.

[Trenton Entwistle]

I was wondering how long Ti needs to be plaaced in the oven and at what temperature to turn it a nice blue. I'm working on a knife now and I want the colour solid, not rainbow like I normally do with the torch. It's .050 thick.

Thanks,

Trenton

[Hyperion]

You could probably anodize it blue a lot easier than turning it blue via heat.

[Andries Olivier]

I agree. Anodizing will give you better control over the process and colour. But if you do not have access to the equipment, here's a list of colours you can get at different temperatures. (temps are given in degrees centigrade)

Pale yellow 371
Gold 385
Gold/brown 398
Purple 412
Blue/purple 426
Sky blue 440
Cobalt blue 454
Pale blue 465
Blue/green 482
Sea green 510
Gold/green 523
Rose/gold 551
Magnolia 565
Purple/gold 579
Dull purple 593
Dull green/red 607
Browny/grey 621
Mottled grey 635

As you can see the temperatures for different colours are rather close together. If you don't have a reliable heatsource that can maintain accurate temperatures, rather forget about this method. As long as the temp remains constant , the oxidation layer should become thicker and more durable without changing colour further.
I have coloured Ti succesfully by using heat, but the electrochemical process will definitely give better results.

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