I've always seen titanium as grey. My titanium watch band was pretty grey, my gold cermet titanium guides are grey. But lately I've been seeing things that say titanium, Seiko watch bands and these new guides, that look more shiny and silver, they don't even look like what I'm used to seeing as titanium.

What gives? Is it a new coating or something in the alloy to make them shiny? Or is it a lower percentage of titanium?

Stupid question, but inquiring minds want to know.

Phil

Polished and perhaps coated with something to keep shine?

Phil,

It is all in the alloy. Think about iron. Some alloys are dull metal grey/black while stainless is bright and shiny. It is all in the metals that are alloyed with the titanium.

Thanks,
Rick

Phil,
I really like titanium as a metal color plus the light weight and non corrosive qualities.
As for the guides that are titanium carbide coated or TiCh finish usually have more sheen. They make the guides quite durable. The alloy of titanium like the ones in Fuji guides are less shiny. Both types are liked by many rod builders and their customers, so it's sort of choice as to which way to go on these.

Rich Garbowski
Richard's Rod & Reel

The Merck Index compendium of chemicals describes pure titanium metal as being a "dark grey, lustrous metal". I've seen the inside of failed ultracentrifuge rotors which are nearly 100% titanium. They are indeed a dark but shiny grey. Titanium has great elastic strength and these rotors used in research labs can handle 140,000+ Gs and 80,000 RPMs. At those forces, they stretch out ! The shinier the interior metal, the lower the alloys content of titanium. Pure titanium machined rotors went for $5,000 for about 20 pounds of metal; that's about $15 / oz, or 50 cents / gram.

P.S. - Excellent resistance to corrosion & great mechanical strength, alloyed or purer, are the hallmarks of titanium. So the luster & color that you choose is up to you & your customer, and a matter of preference, like Rich, Rick & Ken said.

titanium is gray it can be polished
it can be anaidized powder coated
it is very brittle and on top fuel dragster the wing struts are sometimes dyed flat gold kind of a gray gold but only the surface holds the color it is for looks

Phil, Titanium and aluminum can be anodized by submerging in posphorous, I think, In a stainless bowl or tub, anode on the peice and cathode on the bowl, and applying between 1 and 20 volts, with the voltage determining the color. Thats how people get multiple or "rasta" patterns, its just repeated dips at different voltages. I cant remember what silver is, but Im pretty sure that shiny silver titanium results fromm this.