Need Help Identifying Finish

[discostu]

No problem. Sorry they were a little grainy, I think photobucket reduces the quality a fair bit. How about a fresh plasma blast from X Man on these ( if they need refinishing) or I'd go with a straight forward tuneup if they don't. Personally I wouldn't refinish anything that doesn't need it. I like the sound of a swap with the late plasma and carbons! Ultra silver and ultra black should look pretty funky Good luck with what you decide.

 

[discostu]

This photo I took a little while ago may possibly of interest as it shows the early (Matt/matte) titanium finish front left, with the late plasma behind and 2 other earlier plasma finishes on the right. Again taken in natural light.

 

[kronin323]

This photo I took a little while ago may possibly of interest as it shows the early (Matt/matte) titanium finish front left, with the late plasma behind and 2 other earlier plasma finishes on the right. Again taken in natural light.

Nice set of R1s you've got there. Is that VR28 in those three? Looks a little darker than VR28 in that light.

 

[discostu]

Thanks very much. They are gold iridium lenses in all 3. All oem

 

[BriP]

late to the party. it is an early Ti frame. im 90% sure. the green corrosion is fairly common with the Ti's, also serial fade was common on early Ti's, explaining the serial missing. @kronin323 can you angle the light around where the serial should be? sometimes u can still see it at some angles.. it will be faint and look like it was slightly polished compared to the other areas

 

[BriP]

ps- dont refinish them. the raw look of gen1 ti is one of my fav frame colors for the juliet. and this way you have an excuse to wear a gen1 frame without fear of "damaging" a mint frame

 

[kronin323]

late to the party. it is an early Ti frame. im 90% sure. the green corrosion is fairly common with the Ti's, also serial fade was common on early Ti's, explaining the serial missing. @kronin323 can you angle the light around where the serial should be? sometimes u can still see it at some angles.. it will be faint and look like it was slightly polished compared to the other areas

Hey @BriP you were right on the money - I swear I examined that earstem thoroughly in bright light and didn't see jack, but off-angle in medium light I can see the ghost of a serial. Between that and the green corrosion I'll agree they're early Ti. Perhaps with enough off-angle looking I'll be able to figure out leading / trailing serial characters and know exactly which gen. Much thanks.

So between your and @discostu 's feedback I've decided to leave these alone, and I'm happy with that - the orbital swap thing I mentioned earlier I originally had only planned for the carbon/later plasma set and I bought these for that purpose (already had the carbon), but when they didn't look like later plasma I came up with the idea to do the orbital swap with my x-metal finish frames. Those x-metals were one of my original two pairs and were a gift from the wife so I'm probably better off not messing with them, either...

Other than the pictured corrosion and a hint of corrosion around the nosepiece rivets, they are in cherry shape - no frame scratches, perfect lenses, tight nose, barely deteriorated / almost like-new rubbers. According to the seller, nothing replaced / refurbished. Got them for $295 USD. Been wearing them in normal / inside light levels; wore them through the entire IKEA maze with wife & kid last weekend. That original pic of the three Juliets was taken at the office with the set I happened to have with me that day; the weather's been changing so much (and it gets dark early this time of year in the northern hemisphere, unlike Down Under...) that I felt I needed that many variations just to get me through the day...

Thanks to everybody for their help!

Should I bother trying to clean the corrosion? Normally I'd try high-concentration rubbing alcohol and a q-tip but I don't think that'd work here. Abrasive cleaners are out of the question and I'm afraid non-abrasive polishers (like NEVR-DULL) might still damage the finish...

 

[BriP]

Hey @BriP you were right on the money - I swear I examined that earstem thoroughly in bright light and didn't see jack, but off-angle in medium light I can see the ghost of a serial. Between that and the green corrosion I'll agree they're early Ti. Perhaps with enough off-angle looking I'll be able to figure out leading / trailing serial characters and know exactly which gen. Much thanks.

So between your and @discostu 's feedback I've decided to leave these alone, and I'm happy with that - the orbital swap thing I mentioned earlier I originally had only planned for the carbon/later plasma set and I bought these for that purpose (already had the carbon), but when they didn't look like later plasma I came up with the idea to do the orbital swap with my x-metal finish frames. Those x-metals were one of my original two pairs and were a gift from the wife so I'm probably better off not messing with them, either...

Other than the pictured corrosion and a hint of corrosion around the nosepiece rivets, they are in cherry shape - no frame scratches, perfect lenses, tight nose, barely deteriorated / almost like-new rubbers. According to the seller, nothing replaced / refurbished. Got them for $295 USD. Been wearing them in normal / inside light levels; wore them through the entire IKEA maze with wife & kid last weekend. That original pic of the three Juliets was taken at the office with the set I happened to have with me that day; the weather's been changing so much (and it gets dark early this time of year in the northern hemisphere, unlike Down Under...) that I felt I needed that many variations just to get me through the day...

Thanks to everybody for their help!

Should I bother trying to clean the corrosion? Normally I'd try high-concentration rubbing alcohol and a q-tip but I don't think that'd work here. Abrasive cleaners are out of the question and I'm afraid non-abrasive polishers (like NEVR-DULL) might still damage the finish...

haha! good to know ive still got it

my advice immidiately is:

1. pull off all nosebombs, earsocks and tshocks, remove lenses and wash the entire frame in mild soapy water. hand soap works fine. rinse and dry (blow out the screwholes etc)

2.wash all rubbers i same way.

3. use a qtip DRY to try wiping out the green stuff if you want to. if it was me i wouldnt bother..

4. reinstall everything.


so what youve done will be wash it to remove any leftover oil or salt on the frame to prevent future severe corrosion. this is especially important under the nosebombs and earsocks.

i myself prefer the oxidised look of a well worn ti frame (its just so industrial, kinda suits the look and you cant pay for that patina, period). since yours is already halfway there i would keep it as such.

 

[Hando]

Thanks to this thread I realized what I thought was a gen 1 x metal with semi faded serial number was actually a titanium... Nice. Thanks guys. I'm happy with this!

 

[kronin323]

If anyone cares, I finally spent enough time with a magnifying glass and light at various angles to discern the faded serial:

T002681

That confirms it, 1st gen Ti.

(obviously I'm not one of those that feel specific serials need to be kept secret...)