How to remove scratch from Titanium frame?

Derk said:

Hi!

The mechanic of my bikeshop made a small scratch on my titanium frame. The frame has a "matte"
finish and has been glasspearl blasted if I'm well informed.

Could anyone tell me how to get rid a small scratch?

TIA! Derk

Use the mechanic's head to polish up your frame :-) a soft cloth with some fine cleaning agent is
probably best - something like a bathroom cleanser with slight scouring action might be best. Wet
and dry abrasive paper (commonly about 400 grade) might be too much for the frame finish, I suspect.

--
Alex Wheaton

Alex Wheaton said:

Derk wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Could anyone tell me how to get rid a small scratch?

Quoted message said:

a soft cloth with some fine cleaning agent is probably best - something like a bathroom cleanser
with slight scouring action might be best.

1. The scratch will not be visible if you can "deep clean" any dirt from within the scratch. This
is especially true with aluminum (where the oxide turns the white aluminum black, outlining the
scratch.) I recommend a very fine plastic brush, like a tootbrush, and a good solvent, such as
"Nevr-Dull" or perhaps turpentine (careful : it will remove all nearby paint.)

2. Don't use a bathroom cleanser. Go to an autoparts store and purchase 600 grit, 1000 grit, and
2000 grit sandpaper. With these grits of paper i recommend sanding with water running over the
afflicted area (otherwise, the titanium dust will abrade the frame and mess up the finish you
are trying to achieve.) start with 600 grit, sand until you cannot see the scratch, then
increase to 1000, and san until you cannot see the 600-grit scratches, then finish with
2000-grit until you can see yourself in the frame.

i don't know if this will get you the "bead blasted finish" that you desire. It will, however, allow
you to get a "mirror finish". If the mirror finish does not match the bead blasted finish, just
continue sanding until you've sanded the entire frame (estimated worktime : 1200 hours).

- Don Gillies San Diego, CA

(Donald Gillies) said:

2. Don't use a bathroom cleanser. Go to an autoparts store and purchase 600 grit, 1000 grit, and
2000 grit sandpaper. With these grits of paper i recommend sanding with water running over the
afflicted area (otherwise, the titanium dust will abrade the frame and mess up the finish you
are trying to achieve.) start with 600 grit, sand until you cannot see the scratch, then
increase to 1000, and san until you cannot see the 600-grit scratches, then finish with
2000-grit until you can see yourself in the frame.

i don't know if this will get you the "bead blasted finish" that you desire. It will, however,
allow you to get a "mirror finish". If the mirror finish does not match the bead blasted finish,
just continue sanding until you've sanded the entire frame (estimated worktime : 1200 hours).

Heh heh heh... it will sure seem like it.

That's the major drawback to a bead blasted frame finish - you get most of the disadvantages of
paint. Polished can be difficult to maintain as well - if only because they show fingerprints
so easily.

Which is why I prefer brushed (which is why my frames have a brushed finish).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

Derk <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi!

The mechanic of my bikeshop made a small scratch on my titanium frame. The frame has a "matte"
finish and has been glasspearl blasted if I'm well informed.

Could anyone tell me how to get rid a small scratch?

TIA! Derk

www.wenol.com Use it on my Litespeed!

Alex Wheaton <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Derk said:

Hi!

The mechanic of my bikeshop made a small scratch on my titanium frame. The frame has a "matte"
finish and has been glasspearl blasted if I'm well informed.

Could anyone tell me how to get rid a small scratch?

TIA! Derk

Use the mechanic's head to polish up your frame :-) a soft cloth with some fine cleaning agent is
probably best - something like a bathroom cleanser with slight scouring action might be best. Wet
and dry abrasive paper (commonly about 400 grade) might be too much for the frame finish, I
suspect.

You will have to be careful with this approach. It may remove the scratch but polish the surface to
a different matte finish than the surrounding area and be more noticeable than the original scratch.
Seems to me you would have to polish out the scratch and then reblast it to get it right.

JP

Mark Hickey said:

Which is why I prefer brushed (which is why my frames have a brushed finish).

Wait a minute, since my frame wasn't shiny I thought it must be bead blasted. I didn't know about
brushing it. How can I tell if it has been brushed instead of blasted?

Greets, Derk

Derk said:

Mark Hickey said:

Which is why I prefer brushed (which is why my frames have a brushed finish).

Wait a minute, since my frame wasn't shiny I thought it must be bead blasted. I didn't know about
brushing it. How can I tell if it has been brushed instead of blasted?

A brushed frame WILL be shiny, just not mirror-like. More like a DeLorean (visible brush marks -
actually the entire frame is covered with a gazillion little scratches all going the same way).

Mark Hickey Habanero Cycles habcycles.comhabcycles.comOpen ↗ Home of the $695 ti frame

JP said:

Alex Wheaton <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Derk said:

Hi!

The mechanic of my bikeshop made a small scratch on my titanium frame. The frame has a "matte"
finish and has been glasspearl blasted if I'm well informed.

Could anyone tell me how to get rid a small scratch?

TIA! Derk

Use the mechanic's head to polish up your frame :-) a soft cloth with some fine cleaning agent
is probably best - something like a bathroom cleanser with slight scouring action might be best.
Wet and dry abrasive paper (commonly about 400 grade) might be too much for the frame finish, I
suspect.

You will have to be careful with this approach. It may remove the scratch but polish the surface
to a different matte finish than the surrounding area and be more noticeable than the original
scratch. Seems to me you would have to polish out the scratch and then reblast it to get it right.

JP

Apologies to the OP if bathroom cleanser is the wrong way to go - it's precisely the frames surface
finish I was trying to preserve in my response which is part of the problem here; I think I agree
with 'JP' and others that it's going to be very hard to get any kind of invisible solution.

--
Alex Wheaton