Putting a Hard Surface on Titanium Flashlights

frankg

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Does anyone know where a person would go to have a titanium flashing "coated" to protect it from scratches? Something similar to the way aluminum is coated with Mil Spec Type III anodization? The color would have to be something matt, not unlike the finish provided by anodized aluminum or bead blasting. This finish would have to be really hard so it would protect the titanium from scratching and other types of wear.

I have read about coatings like AlTiN (Aluminum Titanium Nitride, nACRo (Aluminum Silicon Chromium), CrN (Chromium Nitride) and boron carbide, but I was hoping that someone has already tried this and could point me in the right direction. There are many companies that apply these types of coatings, but they would normally be working with engine and machine components and might not be concerned with the appearance of the final product. So I am assuming that the best way to approach this is to find someone who already does this kind of work on flashlights, knife scales, etc.
Thanks
frankg
 
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Str8stroke

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Don't know a answer for you. But curious, if it's a light, why you would want to cover it? Perhaps more covert?? I have seen the Titanium Nitride coating on stainless, but have not seen it on Ti. On stainless it holds like gangbusters. I guess it would on Ti too, but, I am not a metallurgist. :)
 

jonwkng

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I have seen the Titanium Nitride coating on stainless, but have not seen it on Ti. On stainless it holds like gangbusters. I guess it would on Ti too, but, I am not a metallurgist. :)

Well... Since you asked, Titanium Nitride on Titanium looks like this... Nothing covert about it. But yes, the coating is very hard.

14629238270_528510a58e_o.jpg


Unfortunately, whilst there are certified coaters who do PVD coating for TiN and other exotic coats... Most would not entertain low volume and small items such as flashlights. Well... Unless they're flashaholics. My TiN coated SPY harks back to a long, long ago Modamag coating run. So if someone had the necessary connections to pull off another run... :whistle:
 

archimedes

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I prefer DLC coating, and have asked about this occasionally .... As jonwkng has noted, it is inconvenient and expensive to coat small batches of items, let alone single pieces.

Disassembly and surface prep is important for getting good results, and that is also labor-intensive and thus costly.

I do know that it has been done, however.

International Watch Works has or had a DLC/PVD service for custom coating wristwatches. I have not contacted them, but perhaps they might be willing to consider coating lights, I suppose ?
 

nfetterly

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I have DLC coating on my Haiku and 2-pak from Modamag's exotic coating run. VERY hard, dark, a little shiny if bare titanium, flat if bead blasted (like Haiku). Outstanding coating.

IMG_2408-L.jpg


IMG_1748-L.jpg


No idea where to get it done.
DLC = Diamond Like Carbon (?)

Low friction coating, pump supplier came into mill where I was working at the time and inside of his pumps were DLC coated.

I edc'd the Haiku for a year in the paper mill.
 

jonwkng

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International Watch Works has or had a DLC/PVD service for custom coating wristwatches. I have not contacted them, but perhaps they might be willing to consider coating lights, I suppose ?

Yes, IWW does offer PVD services for watches and even weapons parts, but I suppose cost will be a big factor. They do deal with Rolex and Panerai timepieces after all. Charges quoted per watchface is close to $900 and bracelets close to $500. :broke:

Sorry if this is going off topic... But unless someone can source a certified coater willing to do flashlights at price that both flashaholics and coater can agree on, I doubt another run would be possible.
 

frankg

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Thanks to everyone for their input. The DLC coating is along the lines of what I am looking for. I will do some follow up, and if I am successful I will let everyone know what I learned.

Being covert wasn't a concern. Its mainly protecting the titanium from scratches and abrasions.
 

Shaocaholica

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Does anyone know if TiN (the gold colored finish) is electrically conductive? Will I need to mask off threads or can I coat the whole light in it?
 

jonwkng

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Does anyone know if TiN (the gold colored finish) is electrically conductive? Will I need to mask off threads or can I coat the whole light in it?

Titanium Nitride is electrically conductive.

Wait... You found a PVD service willing to do flashlights?!! :huh:
Do share...
 

Shaocaholica

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Titanium Nitride is electrically conductive.

Wait... You found a PVD service willing to do flashlights?!! :huh:
Do share...

I haven't found a service. Just figuring out the basics before even trying. The last thing I want to do is find a service, pay a lot of money and find out I need to remove extremely hard coating from threads because the light won't work.
 

oal

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things have changed a lot in 3 years you can find coaters who do gun slides and barrels who are willing to do small runs of other parts, like anything where it is limited in number the price goes up but if its something you are looking for its out there
 

Stoneking

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BryCoat, Inc.
207 Vollmer Ave.
Oldsmar, FL 34677
727-490-1000
727-490-0233 Fax
www.brycoat.com

They coated a Haiku for me:
https://ibb.co/m2Reib

The part would have to be disassembled. They apply 1 – 5 microns of coating thickness to the outer diameters of the 1" o.d. x 7" o.l. part. Minimum order charge is $350.00. Based on the size of the Haiku they could process up to five pieces and still meet the minimum. All pricing is plus freight. Lead time for me was 10 – 14 business days after receipt of my parts.

I spoke with David Shelton - Senior Sales Engineer. He was awesome and very responsive to all my inquiries.

Good luck, I hope this helps you.
 
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