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OxiClean And Titanium: Oakley Crush And Penny

d4r7hur

Oakley Beginner
11
53
Hi all ya'all. I'm Arturo and I'm a scientist.

Here, I'll describe 2 experiments with Oxiclean in an attempt to darken metal in Oakleys. Why? 1. I read somewhere that Oxiclean can darken titanium and make it more moody. I'm curious if it'll actually work. 2. I've always wanted titanium colored Pennies (proper dark, metallic carbon instead of X-metal or the shiny titanium). 3. I am bored.

The first experiment is mixing Oxiclean with boiling water and bathing an Oakley Crush watch that was sold to me as being made out of Titanium. Second is a study of the effects of Oxiclean in a Titanium Penny.

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Materials and Methods:

I put in a plastic container equal parts of Oxiclean and boiling water. I placed the Oxiclean in the container first, making sure that there's enough Oxiclean to physically cover all the metal parts. Then I added an equal measure of boiling water. It's important to mix it with water little by little, because as they start mixing, the mixture starts bubbling and the bubbles may rise above the limit of the container. As the water was mixed little by little with the Oxiclean and started bubbling, I stirred the mixture until it became a homogeneous, viscous fluid. Each item was bathed separately. The bathing times for both items were 1hour and 30 minutes each. The watch was bathed as is. The Pennies were stripped of all the accessible rubbers.

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Results

OxiClean didn't have a significant impact on the watch. The main result is that it cleaned away all of the dirt so now it looks shinier. The plastic band feels a lot cleaner, presumably because it was containing a lot of absorbed skin grease that the Oxiclean washed away. The painted metal parts were stripped of their color, revealing the clean, silver looking metal that blends with the rest of the face of the watch. I didn't expected this, but personally it doesn't bother me. They were looking scratched before anyway. It does look cleaner and shinier overall. However, this is not what I wanted.

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Penny before....

On the titanium Penny frame, Oxyclean did have a significant impact. After only 30 minutes of bathing, I could tell the titanium was looking darker. I left it there for another hour and the result was a very dull fine kind of rust coating layer formed on top of the titanium bits. The non-titanium bits, like the rivets and screws look shinier, just like the watch. When I took it out it looked very unevenly rusty. I applied a coat of olive oil to tone it down a bit. I let it rest overnight and in the morning, a moody dark titanium was achieved. They don't feel rusty at all. They feel someone in between the original smooth titanium and the grainy x-metal. This is exactly what I wanted. Now my Pennies are unique.

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Penny after...


Conclusions
I've been wearing my watch and my Pennies for a couple of weeks now. The watch looks shinier than it was, and now I'm considering replacing it with something else. I'm not into shiny stuff at the moment. The Pennies have exceeded my expectations. I have treated them as a beater frame, hanging them from my shirt and not even the continuous banging against my dangling headphones have left a scratch on the frame. I feel I can be less careful with them than my other x-metals. I am not sure if the entire titanium has darkened, or if it's only a darkened-rusty coat that is molecularly attached to the titanium (like really good paint). This should be investigated further. In conclusion, for metallic non-titanium items, Oxyclean acted as a very good cleaner, respecting plastic structures and taking away all the grime and encapsulated skin grease. It may help revive old unobtaniun rubbers, and this should be tested. On titanium items, it darkens the metal and, with the help of a coat of olive oil, it creates a very unique, moody darkened shade of metal. It makes my pennies look antique, as if they had seen a lot of action and had been recovered from the depths of the ocean and refitted for everyday use. They feel more rugged and go better with my ruby lenses in my opinion.

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Last edited:
Very cool!

To answer your question:
I am not sure if the entire titanium has darkened, or if it's only a darkened-rusty coat that is molecularly attached to the titanium (like really good paint).
It will be a few molecules thick at most. What the cleaner did was etch the titanium and rapidly oxidize the surface of the substrate. It likely won't wear as easily as Aluminum Oxide or Iron Oxide, but more likely closer to a Black Oxide finish (which is a bit of a misnomer) on steel, where the surface is chemically etched to change the exposed metal's molecular structure and not allow the metal below the coating to rust.

Bluing steel is a similar process, where a salt solution is used to form a type of rust as a protective layer against oxidation.

Titanium oxidizes closer to how aluminum does, but in contrast to aluminum the oxidized layer doesn't lose cohesion.
 
Very cool!

To answer your question:

It will be a few molecules thick at most. What the cleaner did was etch the titanium and rapidly oxidize the surface of the substrate. It likely won't wear as easily as Aluminum Oxide or Iron Oxide, but more likely closer to a Black Oxide finish (which is a bit of a misnomer) on steel, where the surface is chemically etched to change the exposed metal's molecular structure and not allow the metal below the coating to rust.

Bluing steel is a similar process, where a salt solution is used to form a type of rust as a protective layer against oxidation.

Titanium oxidizes closer to how aluminum does, but in contrast to aluminum the oxidized layer doesn't lose cohesion.

Thanks Rustpot! I am in awe of your knowledge. That actually makes it crystal clear. You guys are awesome! I'm so glad I joined this forum!
 

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