Gold Plated R1

[YakuzaFloralGangsta]

really nice work and awesome R1

 

[thisguy]

Amazong job by @InfiniteHero !! Great concept also @Dantes . I am jealous of this pair.

 

[XMetalAddict]

Early Mars and R1's alloys are different combinations than the later models. When you blast the Ti, they come out however the base alloys are. So when you go to plate something, any discrepancy is shown due to the new coat of metal on it. Its interesting, we are finding all kinds of things that show up after that weren't visible before. Unless you spend many hours on one piece getting thicker and thicker layers till its totally smooth, the metal will show discrepancy's. I have two personal Juliets, one perfectly smooth and awesome, the other shows stretch marks on the stems. Just part of the uniqueness of the Ti. The prices that are paid to do these frames are all at cost, the time it takes for one frame is many hours, more if something doesn't come out perfect. So add that up and you will find, that if you do enough the price is fair, if you only do a few, then its a low price for what you get. I experiment with outsourcing the plating process on the Ti, I was quoted $300 per frame for copper. That was with a clear coat. So, in hindsight we are making the correct move and keeping it in house and quality control in my personal hands.

This example of a Gold R1 for @Dantes went through me, then back to my employee to be redone. Thought we had a certain process corrected so sent directly to Dantes. I am very happy that it met his approval and he is happy. I think I see some things I would not have let through the process if they had come back to me for the final approval, so from here on out the Frames will only look better than this example. Minor things, not going to mention, just in the clear coat process. Our clear coat is NOT a enamel base. It is ceramic and maintain the feel, sound, and hypoallergenic qualities of the Ti, a truly unique process. Searched for months to find it. It also can be done along with colors so the properties of Ti can be kept.

Always learning something from your posts. Nice work!!!

 

[Dantes]

The rughness is not the metal but the clear coating. I'm sending back the orbitals to IH to be redone, the rest of the parts are great.

 

[qtrain23]

The rughness is not the metal but the clear coating. I'm sending back the orbitals to IH to be redone, the rest of the parts are great.

Let us know how they come out. I noticed the same effect on the pairs he posted in his thread, and I'm debating getting a Romeo done in copper, but that finish has me hesitant. Interesting that it's the clear should be easy enough to remedy then.

 

[InfiniteHero]

The rughness is not the metal but the clear coating. I'm sending back the orbitals to IH to be redone, the rest of the parts are great.

In this case specifically its the clear on the orbitals, THIS Specific pair did not go through the final quality control phase that they typically go through. A lot of information went through PM with Dantes that is not here. It is very normal to plate a piece, then at the end of the process have to go back and start over. We have noticed "uneven metal" "wavy" on previously blasted frames x2 that was NOT noticeable when blasted at all, only when the plating went on. (and no it wasn't the plating). Also on one R1 and one Mars, the nose bridge's had line in the metal that showed up during the plating that appeared to be like stress lines. They weren't stress of the metal, just variations of it. But, it showed up.

Let us know how they come out. I noticed the same effect on the pairs he posted in his thread, and I'm debating getting a Romeo done in copper, but that finish has me hesitant. Interesting that it's the clear should be easy enough to remedy then.

Send em Q, I think we have 4-5 in line right now and they are getting done as they come in. I will work out the cutting money on it for you. BUT..... To make sure everyone knows THIS IS NOT a enamel based clear like you see on most everything that is made (cars, interior wood trim, typical clear on paint). It is NOT sprayed on and doesn't make the frame feel like its been painted. The frame feels pretty much normal, just colored differently and cleared. IT maintains the properties of the Ti and although under heavy use (likely not frames) it can wear, but as in all clears it can be re-cleared over existing clear.

Clear Process ---- There are about 10 steps to actually apply the clear to the frames over the plating. (trust me, I would almost rather rattle can spray clear and that would be perfect every time easy, but not keep the properties of the Ti) This clear is ceramic based. There are also 4 of these steps where if water is not totally dried off before a certain process it can end up under the clear and will oxidize the plating and have a dark charcoal color. This type of spotting could be as small as a pinprick or water droplet on an otherwise perfect piece. Also right before the oven process this can occur on the outside of the clear. Lighting makes the difference of whether or not you can even see a droplet on the piece. You have to make sure all the joints, holes, ridges etc.... are perfectly dry before the oven. That means taking a paper towel and poking at the piece with the tip of it to pull the water from the surface. Steps have been taken to further insure this process become flawless since @Dantes piece was done. This process alone takes about an hour including the 30 min of oven time.

Frame re-works - The process to fix a clear issue is not as simple as stripping the clear with a "paint remover, acetone etc...). The clear does not come off except with some major pressure buffing. Then its not completely taken off in all areas. So this means we have to completely blast the piece back down to bare Ti, then put a copper base, then a bright nickel plate, then the final Copper plate. This helps smooth out the finish but even with all this, its still only 1-3 microns thick. So very thin and in-discrepancies of the Ti will show. Hours of plating would need to be done per piece to totally smooth out a finish. No one would pay for that time. Each piece takes about an hour to finalize and takes about 3 hours or so for the whole frame.

Final process ends up with frame that should be bright (either gold or copper or nickel) and the clear properly applied. The frame in this thread was sent due to being a R1 direct to Dantes without me seeing it, after redoing the orbital and nose. Thought the process was good for this particular frame and in night time lighting under a light bulb it does look fine, just in daylight you can see a few parts of the clear need to be fixed. No problem, he is shipping back and about a week later and after going through my hands it will be sent back. Pain, but simple. Oh, by the way I have an employee who does the actual plating due to the chemicals and process that I cannot have in my home. I have been standing there for most parts but not the orbitals and nose for this one. Hope that makes sense, I am not subbing out the work, its done in-house so to speak.

Hope this answers many questions about the process, its custom work so all pieces will NOT true out the same due to Alloy consistency in the frame (each piece has different concentrations of Ti and the other alloys) and the underlying Ti finish of the bare metal.

 

[THE X-MAN]

Trichlorethe will remove the clear ceramic coating.

 

[Greatestalltime]

Uh. Those are bad. Very nice.

 

[InfiniteHero]

Trichlorethe will remove the clear ceramic coating.

Will double check on that, thanks, but........ Cannot remember the company said only one certain chemical will remove it and it will take about 4-5 hours soaking in it to do that, and they don't make the remover YET. I don't think it was that chemical tried 4-5 of them to no avail. Didn't even put a dent in it. Which is good LOL.

 

[DrumSTW3]

Wow, those are incredible. Not a color combination I would've chosen to do in a thousand years, but I really like it now that I see it.