Xmetal Finishes.....can they be removed?

[Orion]

That coating on the plasma finishes peels off when I blast it,and that coating whatever it is is thicker on the tips of the arms. Unless you completely remove it I don't think there's any way to change the color back to a clear finish. I think people that change the color ar simply removing that finish and getting right down to the raw titanium. It's kind of like a shellac but very heavy duty.

So I have an update but not pics yet. I'll try to get them tomorrow or ASAP.

1st - so for grins I tried to put them in a ultra sonic jewelry cleaner (using Simple Green as a solution). Had them in for 30 minutes and that produced NO results.
2nd - so then I tried liquid Calcium HypoChlorite even though it's not an acid ( I think it's technically a base).....regardless I gave it a whirl for 24 hours and it did absolutely nothing
3rd - brought out some bigger guns. Muriatic Acid. The only kind I could get my hands on was the stuff at Cheapo Depot and I needed it for to a future pool filter cleaning anyway. So I left the frames in there for about 12 hours and it definitely did something.
- solution had a purple tint to it
- floating in the solution were all these tiny particles

I thought the particles were grime/dirt but I now think it pulled off the finish or at least some of it.

The finish is no longer smooth it is semi rough and it certainly does not look "plasma" any more. I'll take some pics and post soon when I have better light.

I then did a quick polish with a dremel and I believe I've gotten down to the raw titanium.

This is cool, and not cool. I really wanted to eliminate the "yellowing" and try to restore the factory finish. I should have figured that if it were possible, someone would have figured it out already. I'll post pics tomorrow I took a few in workshop light but they didn't come out very good

 

[Orion]

I've used my etch for anodizing to remove the yellowing on the 2nd gen plasma frames.

Is your etch custom made or readily available for purchase ( I missed this post before I just posted my latest results)? I just figured out a way to completely remove the finish but I have another frame I'd really like to restore by getting the "yellowing" out. If you prefer I can PM you and we can discuss in private.

 

[Orion]

So I have an update but not pics yet. I'll try to get them tomorrow or ASAP.

1st - so for grins I tried to put them in a ultra sonic jewelry cleaner (using Simple Green as a solution). Had them in for 30 minutes and that produced NO results.
2nd - so then I tried liquid Calcium HypoChlorite even though it's not an acid ( I think it's technically a base).....regardless I gave it a whirl for 24 hours and it did absolutely nothing
3rd - brought out some bigger guns. Muriatic Acid. The only kind I could get my hands on was the stuff at Cheapo Depot and I needed it for to a future pool filter cleaning anyway. So I left the frames in there for about 12 hours and it definitely did something.
- solution had a purple tint to it
- floating in the solution were all these tiny particles

I thought the particles were grime/dirt but I now think it pulled off the finish or at least some of it.

The finish is no longer smooth it is semi rough and it certainly does not look "plasma" any more. I'll take some pics and post soon when I have better light.

I then did a quick polish with a dremel and I believe I've gotten down to the raw titanium.

This is cool, and not cool. I really wanted to eliminate the "yellowing" and try to restore the factory finish. I should have figured that if it were possible, someone would have figured it out already. I'll post pics tomorrow I took a few in workshop light but they didn't come out very good

2nd pic top arm is "acid washed"
1st pic shows polished area near where the temple screw is

 

[SiRacer420]

View attachment 354602
View attachment 354601
2nd pic top arm is "acid washed"
1st pic shows polished area near where the temple screw is

Oh wow. That definitely did something.

 

[Orion]

Oh wow. That definitely did something.

It certainly did. I'll probably chip away at dremeling the rest of the frames to get to bare titanium. But I still would really like to see if there is reasonable way to get the yellowing out.

So these frames will end up getting refinished once done. Still undecided on what that will be

 

[Orion]

So this journey has brought to to some interesting places (figuratively). I believe the miriatic acid (from Cheap Depot) was successful in removing the plasma finish and started to oxidize the titanium.

After polishing with a dremel and McGuiar's I got a decent "polish" on the frames. Sorry no pics. That is because I put the frames back in the acid for 12 hours. I was thinking if there was more finish on the frames it would take care of that. To my surprise, I ended up back where I was just before I polished the frames.

So I then did some reading on Muriatic acid and titanium ( probably would have saved me some time had I done this first but sometimes it's fun discovering things without knowing what will happen).

So I'm thinking about giving painting a try. My question to those who have done this before is......

Can these frames be painted "as is" once properly degreased or do they need a primer (adhesion promoter) to better my chances for the paint to stick.

Or, am I way off track and need to do something else to the frames before I can lay any paint down?

I appreciate any suggestions and if you prefer to PM me, I will keep our discussions in confidence if you wish.

 

[THE X-MAN]

Sand blast

 

[THE X-MAN]

If you can't blast......try scotch brite.if your not using an oven cured paint assemble them first,it will cause less grief while trying to assemble them without scratching the paint.no matter what in life you paint.....it's all about surface prep.

 

[XMetalAddict]

Well, I might actually be able to contribute something here. I have a 24k XX, which unfortunately had a stripped screw head. Whilst trying to remove it, my sweaty hands managed to cause this yellowing problem on the plasma finish on the orbitals. For a long time I cursed and couldn't bring myself to sort them out. Eventually I got the screw out using a dremmel and whilst I had it in my hand, I used Flitz and a buffing pad and gently went overy the affected areas. At this point I couldn't care less as they would need to be done properly either way. It actually worked! It removed the yellowing and whilst it is a little bit more shiny on some areas I worked on it does not look completely out of place. I am guessing it did remove some of the finish, but it does not look too bad.

When I am back home I will try and take some pictures. I may be eating my words when I go back to them as I haven't looked at them for a while.

 

[Orion]

Well, I might actually be able to contribute something here. I have a 24k XX, which unfortunately had a stripped screw head. Whilst trying to remove it, my sweaty hands managed to cause this yellowing problem on the plasma finish on the orbitals. For a long time I cursed and couldn't bring myself to sort them out. Eventually I got the screw out using a dremmel and whilst I had it in my hand, I used Flitz and a buffing pad and gently went overy the affected areas. At this point I couldn't care less as they would need to be done properly either way. It actually worked! It removed the yellowing and whilst it is a little bit more shiny on some areas I worked on it does not look completely out of place. I am guessing it did remove some of the finish, but it does not look too bad.

When I am back home I will try and take some pictures. I may be eating my words when I go back to them as I haven't looked at them for a while.

Thanks for chiming in...

There looks like there is all sorts of types of Flitz, which one did you use? They seem to have a lot of products.

Also was it the white felt pad you used for buffing?

I have 2 more frames "on deck" that I'm holding off on doing anything with. I have a few ideas of things to try but it's extreme.