Polishing a blasted Ti frame

[Blitzcycleworks]

Hello all!

Very small, enthusiastic, framebuilder here. Just got things rolling in August and have most of the pieces of the massive framebuilding puzzle put in place. I've been getting quite a few local racers on my team and others that got wind that I like to make and work on Ti bikes. Well one brought me his Funk full squish MTB frame that was in a powder coat black. He got sick of the powder coat and wanted a nice clean blast. So I, working with a local mediablaster, had the frame finished. Well now he's been eyeing up the polished frames and called me up to see if I would polish it for him. Well I've polished frames from just the natural/mill finish, but never from a blasted finish. How would you recommend going about it or should I just leave it alone? I was hand polishing with scotchbrite and using a dynafile with a nonwoven red belt for the raw frames.

Thanks for any input and look forward to hopefully contribute some useful info in the future.

Andy

[shiggy]

Hello all!

Very small, enthusiastic, framebuilder here. Just got things rolling in August and have most of the pieces of the massive framebuilding puzzle put in place. I've been getting quite a few local racers on my team and others that got wind that I like to make and work on Ti bikes. Well one brought me his Funk full squish MTB frame that was in a powder coat black. He got sick of the powder coat and wanted a nice clean blast. So I, working with a local mediablaster, had the frame finished. Well now he's been eyeing up the polished frames and called me up to see if I would polish it for him. Well I've polished frames from just the natural/mill finish, but never from a blasted finish. How would you recommend going about it or should I just leave it alone? I was hand polishing with scotchbrite and using a dynafile with a nonwoven red belt for the raw frames.

Thanks for any input and look forward to hopefully contribute some useful info in the future.

Andy

I would leave it alone. You do not know the wall thickness, and the blasting may have reduced it somewhat. Have heard of over enthusiastic ti frame owners polishing a hole into a tube of a beadblasted bike.

[pruckelshaus]

I thought Ti tubing had thicker walls?

[shiggy]

I thought Ti tubing had thicker walls?

Usually thicker than steel, but much thinner than aluminum.

[Blitzcycleworks]

Usually thicker than steel, but much thinner than aluminum.

Probably .035 or .032 wall. I'll leave this one go. Im trying to talk him into just polishing a small area and blasting his logo only.