How to polish a titanium frame (here GT Xizang 97)

dear all,

This is a GT Xizang 16" frame that was in use for over the past couple of years and now it needs some new optics. I don't want to polish the frame to a mirror-finish, I rather want a "Merlin finish", like in my pictures. The frame has no dents or an big scratches. Only at the BB tube there some scratches.


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What do you need for this brushed titanium finish?

I used some basic brushing material. It is not sand, but has the structure of Scotch Brite.








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the frame with first tries:



head tube polished a little bit:







untreated:




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second run












It's starting to look nice


Cheers,
Peter

This is Bike p*rn for me.

I have a soft spot for GT's & bare naked polished metal

I've not seen an xizang up as close as this before. I like the overall design such as the detailing added to the frame - the collar atop the seat tube. Gorgeous ti welds and the embossed logos look better in ti too. Looks a mint example - Has it had a good life? Are there ANY dings that might tell a story?

Ive just finished off polishing my Ally frame and appreciate the sheer amount of elbow grease and doggedness THAT took. So a tip of the hat to you sir, wisely not going for a mirror finish as ti is more pygmalion to get a finish on! Can see the difference so distinctly in your first pic. What a nice frame to work on.

What's the plan with decals?
More pics & comments please!

Thanks for sharing

Polished mine, came up really good, but now has smuges all over it and looks terrible!

I use autosol on my litespeed......it can be done regularly without too much hassle and looks good when done......I wouldn't do anything to rub it down, just ease out the inherent shine that is already there......

That looks really top-notch! I’ve got a titanium recumbent frame which looked less than pristine even when new. All the welds were discoloured – it looked like a used exhaust pipe!

I was advised to use a metal polish called ‘Flitz’ – a lot of owners of Ti recumbent frames use that. It certainly seems to do a nice job putting a shine on things, but it doesn’t really clean up any scratches or discolouration. The guy who made my bike was less than helpful, but did say that other manufacturers blast the welds with walnut shells to remove the welding marks.

new pictures added

saulus":114jq7tu said:

What's the plan with decals?
More pics & comments please!

Thanks for sharing

Click to expand...

I don't know if I want to put any on it at all. I have a "no repro" 1997 set here since 2 days.

More pics:




before/after:

Yidaki:

"I don't know if I want to put any on it at all. I have a "no repro" 1997 set here since 2 days."

Click to expand...

Yeah, fair one. Think all eyes should be on the frame.

Xizangs look awesome with the early '92/'93 neon yellow/green stickers

deejayen":2uyeszu9 said:

That looks really top-notch! I’ve got a titanium recumbent frame which looked less than pristine even when new. All the welds were discoloured – it looked like a used exhaust pipe!

I was advised to use a metal polish called ‘Flitz’ – a lot of owners of Ti recumbent frames use that. It certainly seems to do a nice job putting a shine on things, but it doesn’t really clean up any scratches or discolouration. The guy who made my bike was less than helpful, but did say that other manufacturers blast the welds with walnut shells to remove the welding marks.

Click to expand...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pickling_(metal)

http://www.tigbrush.com/

https://www.google.co.uk/#biw=1043&bih= ... a24b3929ba