# Flame activated Anodize coloring



## nein166 (Nov 4, 2009)

While I was heating my flashlight to break the threadlocker I think I overheated it. As a result the Black turned Burnt Sunset. I thought that the Al was turning cherry red but when I pulled the flame away it coalesced into a full even color. I then remembered that aluminum disintegrates instead of glowing like copper. So I just let it cool and found the burnt sunset head to still have the same texture as the black body. I loved it so much I took the rest of the light apart - all o-rings and button - and started flaming all of it. Here are some before and after shots. 
This is my Hugsby Firestarter that Ictorana came up with here

So does anyone know how this happened? Is this know to work with HA?


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## Der Wichtel (Nov 4, 2009)

I think it's the black color which is sealed in the HA coating has changed due to the heat.
Aluminiumoxide can withstand pretty high heat.
Anyway, that looks very nice!


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## csshih (Nov 4, 2009)

odd.. the hugsby light is type II ano,right?


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## DimeRazorback (Nov 4, 2009)

That looks sweet!


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## Kestrel (Nov 4, 2009)

Looks very nice. :huh: Would be interesting to compare the results between TypeII-Black and HA.

Unfortunately I'd expect that most lights are made of heat-treated / hardened aluminum so I'd guess that they will be softer / weaker after doing this.


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## Stillphoto (Nov 4, 2009)

I once left a black anodized light stand in the back of my truck for a week. After sitting in the hot sun for that time, the black turned to a brownish copper color. I recon it's just the breaking down / fading of the dye used in the anodizing process. Using a torch would just amplify / speed this process.

Luckily it turned out cool for you!


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## Dioni (Nov 5, 2009)

Kestrel said:


> Unfortunately I'd expect that most lights are made of heat-treated / hardened aluminum so I'd guess that they will be softer / weaker after doing this.


 
+1 

still looks cool!


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## nein166 (Nov 5, 2009)

Wait till you see what happened to the 2D Black Mag and CMG Infinity. 
Just some old beaters I had laying around.
Pics Tomorrow


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## Winx (Nov 5, 2009)

Here is a partly flamed/heated Spiderfire tailcap. The color in original photo looked orange. I enhanced the colors so it's more like the real color. The heating should be done carefully for even color.


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## Mjolnir (Nov 5, 2009)

It must be that the heat is changing the anodizing die somehow, but I'm not really sure what reaction is going on. It is black dye, so it should not normally contain any orange dye. The dye is actually trapped inside pores, so I would think that the dye isn't reacting with any foreign compounds; it must be the dye itself changing. If the dye is reacting with something in the air, then that would mean that the anodizing has become unsealed, which I don't think is very likely to happen (since it is sealed by chemical bonds).

Also, weakening the aluminum is not the only issue with heat. Aluminum oxide has a different thermal expansion coefficient than aluminum. This means that the heat will cause the anodizing to expand at a different rate as the aluminum, which can cause cracks in the anodizing. I wouldn't be surprised if heating it with a torch will weaken the anodizing enough for it to simply rub off (especially if oyu heat it for an extended period of time).


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## Dioni (Nov 5, 2009)

nein166 said:


> Wait till you see what happened to the 2D Black Mag and CMG Infinity.
> Just some old beaters I had laying around.
> Pics Tomorrow


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## Dioni (Nov 5, 2009)

Winx said:


> Here is a partly flamed/heated Spiderfire tailcap. The color in original photo looked orange. I enhanced the colors so it's more like the real color. The heating should be done carefully for even color.


 
Nice! I wanna incinerate something too! :devil:


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## Stillphoto (Nov 5, 2009)

Mjolnir said:


> It is black dye, so it should not normally contain any orange dye.



True, but a lot of times even "black" dye can turn various shades of brown/orange. 

I happen to have a black mini mag head laying around, I'll go see what sort of damage I can do. Pics soon if there's anything good to show.

By the way Nein, I'm in no way trying to hijack this thread, just adding to the collective knowledge base, hope you don't mind!


*Results* - Sure enough, first the anodizing had a slight reddish glint to the black, next thing i knew, it went deep rootbeer brown and then quickly into a light brown / copper tone. Plus due to what may have been the difference in cooling between the host metal and the anodized outer layer, the surface has a "crazed" appearance that's almost prismatic, but you only see that when viewing the part with a light source that's on the same axis as your vision.

It actually breaks light down into colors. A full spectrum source like the sun shows a rainbow effect, an led light creates just a single color, and it's almost reflective like a weak street sign.


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## jar3ds (Nov 5, 2009)

burn away guys! LoL... keep us posted!


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## Mjolnir (Nov 5, 2009)

I would advise against doing this to a light that you value. It is likely that it will permanently ruin the anodizing. The "crazing" means that the aluminum oxide layer is cracking, which will make it much less durable. it is likely that it will come off fairly easily. Definitely do not do this on an expensive light.


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## lctorana (Nov 5, 2009)

I also find it intriguing that the white lettering remains intact, or nearly so.


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## jasonck08 (Nov 5, 2009)

Amazing! I'm surprised it turned out having such an even shade of orange / copper.


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## nein166 (Nov 6, 2009)

So I burned the Black CMG Infinity I had on my keychain for years its in bad shape but now its shiny brass in color. The pill was taken out and o-rings removed.

The same prep with the 2D Mag but I started at the tail and worked the flame down slowly. I achieved a smooth fade, but the tail cap was a very different and brighter brass color. 

I can definately make out some crazy stress marking in the back end of the maglight, I think this may be from overheating and different coefficient of linear expansion in the Aluminum and Aluminum Oxide like Mjolnir stated. I'll throw the 2D in my car, on the floor to take some abuse this winter.


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## tstartrekdude (Nov 6, 2009)

This can be done on a stove top! i felt odd as i put the battery tube on the burner...but when it turned the dark golden color i knew at that point that i would not have a black light ever again.


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## lctorana (Nov 6, 2009)

tstartrekdude said:


> This can be done on a stove top! i felt odd as i put the battery tube on the burner...


Ever since this thread was started, I've been waiting for someone to post this. I've ben seeing visions of CPFers heating their torches on the gas stove, dropping them when they get too hot, and then setting fire to their kitchens.


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## kosPap (Nov 6, 2009)

and then their wives


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## Dioni (Nov 6, 2009)

Nein,

Nice! you get a "dark dawn" finish to your mag!


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## Dioni (Nov 6, 2009)

kosPap said:


> and then their wives


 
:laughing:

The worst thing is to get another flashlight back inside the house after that.


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## Mjolnir (Nov 6, 2009)

Keep in mind that orange anodizing dye does exist. If manufacturers wanted, they could simply make the lights orange to begin with. Of course, this would only work with type II anodized lights. Colors do not work well with type III anodizing. Although, if anyone has a type III anodized light to sacrifice, I would be interested to see the result. There is a reason that they do not dye type III anodized lights with vibrant colors in the first place, so doing this with type III coating may not come out well.

Nein, does the coating seem to come off at all?


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## tstartrekdude (Nov 6, 2009)

lctorana said:


> I've been seeing visions of CPFers heating their torches on the gas stove, dropping them when they get too hot, and then setting fire to their kitchens.


 It was an electric cook top, that's the cool part, did it on there for about 4 minets before it did anything(on hi, glowing red) than all of a sudden, poof it started going, the fun bit was that the parts of it that where touching the stove did not go first, it was smooth over the whole surface.


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## TorchBoy (Nov 6, 2009)

Do the parts which were in contact with the hot element look any different to the rest of it? Would heating a black torch slowly make any difference to the crazing?


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## tstartrekdude (Nov 6, 2009)

nope it all looks the same, and i don't see any crazing on my light, i think its more about how you cool it tho, i keep it over the stove top so it would cool a bit slower.


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## nein166 (Nov 7, 2009)

I droped the tailcap on concrete from 5' and it has a nice shiny silver spot now. Is that the kind of wear you mean? Nothing is rubbing off from handling but I'm not going to try scratching it anymore than normal.


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## TorchBoy (Nov 7, 2009)

nein166 said:


> I droped the tailcap on concrete from 5' and it has a nice shiny silver spot now.


What, only a spot? So the whole coating didn't fall off?


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## kosPap (Nov 9, 2009)

well I couldn't not try it myself! Since I have two flashlights to tinker with!

In the start I tried heating the flashlight in cooking oil....there were some fries made today and the oil would be discarded anyway, so I tried it...NOPE NADA....the oil was burning with fumes for about 5 min but no change of color on the flashlight...

So I resorted to the electrical stove plate...

Starting with this...







I got this








Then I got out the Ultrafire 602C






(colors are good approximations of the originals)

And here is a family photo with another MTE (a friend's of mine awaiting serious mod)






sadly the greenish golden one, being taht scared, will be stripped of its fur...and if my buddy will do away wioth the light the black one will treated with the scorching heat torture!

Eagle-eyed members wil notice that the new colors are not uniform...I believe that thsi has to do with heat transfer speed. The thiner parts and the areas touching the plate cahnged color a bit faster and they got lighter...

Funny thing is that even when I reheated it the color has "set" and did not change further...

So I would try it with a propane torch next time....

enjoy, kostas


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## Tony Hanna (Nov 9, 2009)

I wonder if this could be done with a smaller heat source (like a small butane torch) to keep the color change isolated to a small enough area to allow for designs and such instead of a full color change? I don't have the artistic talent to bother trying but in the right hands, the results could be really interesting!:thumbsup:


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## kosPap (Nov 9, 2009)

well thanks for the idea! I was thinking soem sort of thermal wicking copmpound but it already seems impractical...

Now I do not know what kind of butane torch but surely not a jet lighter...it takes some time

on the other hand preheating it and then working wiht the torch flame...hmmmm!

No matter what i believe the secret is being QUICK...like placing the flashlight parts on an already red-hot stove...

anyone care to experiment before me? though I am already making a new order from DX in another browser window....


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## Tony Hanna (Nov 9, 2009)

kosPap said:


> well thanks for the idea! I was thinking soem sort of thermal wicking copmpound but it already seems impractical...
> 
> Now I do not know what kind of butane torch but surely not a jet lighter...it takes some time
> 
> ...



Something like this is what I had in mind. Though some kind of oxy-fuel rig might be better at allowing you to heat a small area very quickly and then get the flame away before the heat has a chance to spread too far.

Edit: I wonder if a decent power laser could be used for detail work?


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## spencer (Nov 9, 2009)

You aren't going to be able to draw stuff because the aluminum will spread the heat too quickly and "smudge" anything you draw.


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## allburger (Nov 9, 2009)

flame on with a torch, and use water drips to cool areas. It wouldn't be very controllable to have a specific design, but might create a neat affect.


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## nein166 (Nov 10, 2009)

allburger said:


> flame on with a torch, and use water drips to cool areas. It wouldn't be very controllable to have a specific design, but might create a neat affect.


That sounds likely to crack the Aluminum
Better to try wrapping copper wire and aluminum foil around the light. 
Chicken wire wrapped on tight could look cool if it works
or metal window screen


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## kosPap (Nov 10, 2009)

I believe it would work....

as I have stated on an earleir post I believe the trick to controled result is heating the ano layer fast


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## Dioni (Nov 14, 2009)

Taking advantage of the topic: Do anyone know how remove black ha anodizing to make a silver torch [bare aluminium]? 

Thanks.


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## dandism (Nov 14, 2009)

Dioni said:


> Taking advantage of the topic: Do anyone know how remove black ha anodizing to make a silver torch [bare aluminium]?
> 
> Thanks.


 drain cleaner


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## Dioni (Nov 14, 2009)

dandism said:


> drain cleaner


 
Thanks, I'll look about it! :thumbsup:


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## csshih (Nov 14, 2009)

yep. I did that to my ezaa.


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## Aircraft800 (Nov 16, 2009)

Dioni said:


> Taking advantage of the topic: Do anyone know how remove black ha anodizing to make a silver torch [bare aluminium]?
> 
> Thanks.


 
I suggest you use Purple Power Degreaser and a little brush.

It takes a little more time, but will leave your AL looking shinny, with no chance of pitting.

Greased Lightning Degreaser also works very well, it was just hard to find here, then I tested out the Purple Power with terrific results.


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## tfilandm (Nov 17, 2009)

On a semi-related note, if you take a torch to an un-anodized Titanium flashlight body you can create a whole spectrum of different colors, including a really pretty blue. Just don't light the Ti on fire. It burns just like magnesium.


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## lctorana (Nov 17, 2009)

tfilandm said:


> Just don't light the Ti on fire. It burns just like magnesium.


Oh great, now you tell me. My mouth is full of incendiary material.:tinfoil::huh:


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## tfilandm (Nov 18, 2009)

Yeah, for all my projects, especially torchwork, I like to hold the workpiece in my mouth.


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## Dioni (Nov 18, 2009)

Aircraft800 said:


> I suggest you use Purple Power Degreaser and a little brush.
> 
> It takes a little more time, but will leave your AL looking shinny, with no chance of pitting.
> 
> Greased Lightning Degreaser also works very well, it was just hard to find here, then I tested out the Purple Power with terrific results.


 
Thanks for the tip! :thumbsup:

I'll make some tests and post in homemade section.


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## Pöbel (Nov 19, 2009)

this can also be done by baking the parts in the oven. This has be done do a lot of paintball markers when the idea came up some while ago.


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## polkiuj (Nov 22, 2009)

Mjolnir said:


> Keep in mind that orange anodizing dye does exist. If manufacturers wanted, they could simply make the lights orange to begin with. Of course, this would only work with type II anodized lights. Colors do not work well with type III anodizing. Although, if anyone has a type III anodized light to sacrifice, I would be interested to see the result. There is a reason that they do not dye type III anodized lights with vibrant colors in the first place, so doing this with type III coating may not come out well.
> 
> Nein, does the coating seem to come off at all?



:wave: I can't believe no one tried this yet. 







:nana: The ano layer seems to have severe "crazing" unlike type II lights. When I get my light back, I'll test to see if the anodizing is still strong.

*Wonders if that is how Olive drab color is achieved* :nana:

*Just kidding* :devil:


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## N10 (Nov 23, 2009)

i'm gonna try to put a mag 3AA in the oven..does this "discoloration" only work on black anodising?..any triend it with other colors?


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## nein166 (Nov 23, 2009)

N10 said:


> i'm gonna try to put a mag 3AA in the oven..does this "discoloration" only work on black anodising?..any triend it with other colors?


It should work with any HA but the color change varies.


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## Mjolnir (Nov 23, 2009)

nein166 said:


> It should work with any HA but the color change varies.


I think you mean that it should work on any anodizing, not any hard anodizing. Hard anodizing only includes type III anodizing, not type II anodizing. The most dramatic color change should occur with Type II anodizing.

As far as putting the object in the oven goes: There are many discussions on the internet about why this is a bad idea. Putting an aluminum light in an oven for extended periods of time can change its temper, making it weaker or more brittle. This is not something you want happening with an expensive flashlight that is going to exposed to use. As I have said before, the "crazing" is the aluminum oxide layer being _destroyed_ and weakened. I personally don't think that it is worth destroying the anodizing on a light just to get some different colors.


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## Paramedic (Nov 23, 2009)

I wouldn't try this with expensive light, but my old Ultrafire C3 got little heat treatment on stove. Result is a ... eh ... carrot. But i won't mind. Got little bored with original coloring. 

Couple more updates, and this light will go back to where it belongs.

In my car's glove compartment. 

Before:






After:


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## TorchBoy (Nov 23, 2009)

"Harry, no! Don't look at the Ultrafire C3 flashlight!"
"I-can't-help-it. It's-so-beautiful."


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## kosPap (Nov 24, 2009)

good work paramedic...

anyone else?


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## N10 (Nov 24, 2009)

started with the [email protected] head..on the stove instead of the oven and it started smoking.so i stopped,didn't feel like setting off the fire alarm for nothing..i'm in an apartment.didn't really change colour though.how long/how much heat did you guys apply to get thse results?


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## nein166 (Nov 24, 2009)

N10 said:


> started with the [email protected] head..on the stove instead of the oven and it started smoking.so i stopped,didn't feel like setting off the fire alarm for nothing..i'm in an apartment.didn't really change colour though.how long/how much heat did you guys apply to get thse results?


Thats strange, did you take off the O-Rings?
Or was there a lot of lube in the threads?
Granted I used a torch on a steel bench so I wasn't worried about smoke of catching anything on fire.
Maybe try throwing it in the oven on the top broiler shelf for 5 minutes


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## nein166 (Nov 24, 2009)

Paramedic said:


> I wouldn't try this with expensive light, but my old Ultrafire C3 got little heat treatment on stove. Result is a ... eh ... carrot. But i won't mind. Got little bored with original coloring.
> 
> Couple more updates, and this light will go back to where it belongs.
> 
> ...


That color looks just like mine great job, I'm still curious about an olive HA getting the treatment to see what color that goes.


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## Dioni (Nov 24, 2009)

nein166 said:


> I'm still curious about an olive HA getting the treatment to see what color that goes.


 
Me too!  

impossible.. nobody has a old HA light to sacrifice. :devil:


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## Dioni (Nov 24, 2009)

polkiuj said:


>


 
Wow.. it looks like a HA light!


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## Superdave (Nov 24, 2009)

hmm, i have a spare 6P body that i might try this on tonight...


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## N10 (Nov 24, 2009)

nein166 said:


> Thats strange, did you take off the O-Rings?
> Or was there a lot of lube in the threads?
> Granted I used a torch on a steel bench so I wasn't worried about smoke of catching anything on fire.
> Maybe try throwing it in the oven on the top broiler shelf for 5 minutes



yeah i did remove the O rings...it was either some residual lube on the threads or something left on the stove itself..lol...i might try it later with the oven....will post later if i do it


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## Superdave (Nov 24, 2009)

hmm, i held the torch on my 6PDL body for about 10 minutes and got nothing.. oh well.


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## polkiuj (Nov 25, 2009)

Dioni said:


> Wow.. it looks like a HA light!


You mean you *ehem* didn't notice it was HA??

It's a one of a kind, Fenix LD10 in olive with forward clickie and orange boot kit. Well, at least most of it is olive. I'll be done with the head soon. =D

BTW, HA takes longer than Type II to change color. And yea, I overdid the body.. =( Too dark to see properly... and the color rendition of LED's don't help... =(

BTW, I flamed it with a conventional stove. XD Fire and all. The body took a long time to change. But was it worth it?? :devil:


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## alex_g2k (Nov 25, 2009)

*romisen rc-g2*

i liked the idea of changing the color of anodizing by heating the body of a flashlight. so i did it with my romisen rc-g2. have a look:


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## kosPap (Nov 25, 2009)

*Re: romisen rc-g2*

well this is what I was about to do....

hwo did you do it? torch or electrical stove? all the parts asssembled or each one alone?


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## alex_g2k (Nov 25, 2009)

disassembled it, removed all o-rings and pre-heated it on electrical stove till it reached about 300 degrees Celsius. then finished the work with a butane torch. i think the better idea is to assemble it again after removing all internals and o-rings before "cooking" to achieve same amount of temperature of every part so they could change their color equally. as you can see from my picture, the tail part has a bit different color then the rest of the body due to the separate heating process.


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## kosPap (Nov 25, 2009)

hmm thanks for the butane torch info....

my experience shows that teh difference it has to more with the speed of heating the ano layer...tailcaps have less mass and change diffferently...


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## Stillphoto (Nov 25, 2009)

I'd guess that the tail is slightly different because it's either from a different anodizing run or a slightly different stock of metal...


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## polkiuj (Nov 25, 2009)

Almost done!!







What light is complete without a beamshot?? Med







Low






Now all I need is a new emitter. =D


Sorry for the lousy(er) pics. No camera, so it's shot with my mac's iSight.


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## ma_sha1 (Nov 26, 2009)

I am feeling left out, got to join in on the action!

Set my Oven to Broil for 1 hr, whola!
Turns out to be golden color, the head is slightly lighter but pretty close overall. 





Compare to the Gold Mag 1C by Modmag, it's slightly darker golden blond color, How about name it "Dirty Blond?" :devil:


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## Cuso (Nov 26, 2009)

I think im going to have an orange Solarforce very soon...:devil:


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## NonSenCe (Dec 12, 2009)

argh.. i just knew i should not browse thru this thread.. i just knew it. 

now i cant look at the oven anymore without thinking about "accidentally leaving the flashlight inside it" hahah.. 

very cool looks. (wonder what will the grey or natrural coated lights turn up to look like.. or the sand L2.. hmm)

or should i just jump the gun and do a quark. =)


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## nein166 (Dec 12, 2009)

NonSenCe said:


> now i cant look at the oven anymore without thinking about "accidentally leaving the flashlight inside it" hahah..



Don't forget to "accidentally" take off o-rings and disassemble the tailcap


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## TorchBoy (Dec 12, 2009)

ma_sha1 said:


> Set my Oven to Broil for 1 hr, whola!
> Turns out to be golden color, the head is slightly lighter but pretty close overall.





nein166 said:


> Don't forget to "accidentally" take off o-rings and disassemble the tailcap


How did you do that, ma_sha1?


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## balou (Dec 13, 2009)

I can't seem to find my Nitecore D10 when it's dark because of its black matte color...


Hm.....


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## CampingLED (Dec 13, 2009)

Here are two of mine. The RC-G2 surprised me:






They started out as these two lights
TR-801
RC-G2


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## kosPap (Dec 13, 2009)

wow! great work....the trustfire turned out very smooth....it did start as a nat alum one didn't it?

the G2 shows that the effect is in the black ano...maybe from light to light it is never real black, But extremely dark shades for red, yelow, etc


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## CampingLED (Dec 13, 2009)

kosPap said:


> wow! great work....the trustfire turned out very smooth....it did start as a nat alum one didn't it?
> 
> the G2 shows that the effect is in the black ano...maybe from light to light it is never real black, But extremely dark shades for red, yelow, etc


 
Did them on the stove and I had to take the head of the TR off before the other parts (changed colour quicker than the others). Yes, it was the standard alum colour. The G2 was gray before I started. Liked it more in that colour than the silver that it is now.


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## Dioni (Dec 13, 2009)

balou said:


> I can't seem to find my Nitecore D10 when it's dark because of its black matte color...
> 
> 
> Hm.....


 
:naughty: :devil:


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## Mjolnir (Dec 13, 2009)

It can't truly be "natural" colored. If "natural" means that it is not dyed, then it would not change color (since the heat is affecting the dye, changing its color). If it IS dyed, then I don't understand why it would be called "natural" anodizing, since it is dyed the same as anything else.


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## think2x (Dec 13, 2009)

alex_g2k said:


> I think the better idea is to assemble it again after removing all internals and o-rings before "cooking" to achieve same amount of temperature of every part so they could change their color equally. as you can see from my picture, the tail part has a bit different color then the rest of the body due to the separate heating process.


I just did my 3D mag with a map gas torch. I got in a hurry and it left it black where ever there was oil residue(finger prints, lube etc.) DOH!
Try number two...my 5D mag in the oven on broil for 30 minutes. looks good but from what I can tell the parts with more mass (the head and tailcap) take longer to heat which made them darker. The thinner metals (the tube and the bezel ring) came out lighter the bezel being the lightest of them all. Looks like the 3D gets stripped and coated but the 5D looks very nice. Just my thoughts on it.


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## CampingLED (Dec 13, 2009)

think2x said:


> I just did my 3D mag with a map gas torch. I got in a hurry and it left it black where ever there was oil residue(finger prints, lube etc.) DOH!
> Try number two...my 5D mag in the oven on broil for 30 minutes. looks good but from what I can tell the parts with more mass (the head and tailcap) take longer to heat which made them darker. The thinner metals (the tube and the bezel ring) came out lighter the bezel being the lightest of them all. Looks like the 3D gets stripped and coated but the 5D looks very nice. Just my thoughts on it.


 
How can we believe you without pics? :naughty: :thumbsup:


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## think2x (Dec 13, 2009)

Just now assembled it. I literally just "cooked" the thing. Working on it now.


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## think2x (Dec 13, 2009)

How's this look?


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## kosPap (Dec 14, 2009)

excluding the color variance, not bad at all...


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## think2x (Dec 14, 2009)

I put the tailcap back in the oven for a while. It's now slightly lighter than the body instead of darker (less contrast between them now)


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## Dioni (Dec 14, 2009)

think2x said:


> Just now assembled it. I literally just "cooked" the thing. Working on it now.


 
LOL... that was what was missing!
and cooking no way! After this, your wife.. :tsk:


Just kidding. Very good results! :thumbsup:


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## Deathyak (Dec 16, 2009)

Interesting.

I have a dead Akoray 106 I'd be willing to toast. Unfortunately, any comparable programmable driver costs about as much a a new one.

Its nice and green. Just gotta wait till no ones around before randomly throwing a flashlight in the oven...


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## Aircraft800 (Dec 17, 2009)

Deathyak said:


> Interesting.
> 
> I have a dead Akoray 106 I'd be willing to toast. Unfortunately, any comparable programmable driver costs about as much a a new one.
> 
> Its nice and green. Just gotta wait till no ones around before randomly throwing a flashlight in the oven...


 
Put it in someone else's oven! :devil: I'd like to see what the green does.


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## Deathyak (Dec 19, 2009)

OK finally got around to it at around one in the morning. No one warned me about the funny burning smell... LOL I was expecting it though lol.

Before:






Closest thing I could find for color comparison was an airsoft pistol--they both looked black without it. (Me and a few friends are playing today).





Cooking up some flashlight... YUM! :naughty:





Afterwards. Kinda a sandy brownish yellow. Not really gold. It looked like it was going to turn silver if I left it longer.


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## polkiuj (Jan 27, 2010)

NonSenCe said:


> argh.. i just knew i should not browse thru this thread.. i just knew it.
> 
> now i cant look at the oven anymore without thinking about "accidentally leaving the flashlight inside it" hahah..
> 
> ...


Let me tell you what you'll get with a Quark.
They is some special lights, haha!

Quarks turn colors as type II lights does. You'll get a beautiful dark brown, then it turns orange and then gold. Probably become silver after that, I dunno.

But the quark is type III, evident by the 'crazing' of the surface. Really interesting. =D


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## Magic Matt (Jan 29, 2010)

The volume controls on my HiFi have done that... I thought it was just friction, but now you say that and I look closely, it's mostly on the side where the sun hits it.

How hot are we talking - I presume I need to take all the innerds out of the body first?

Edit: Never mind - I read the thread again and found my answer.


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## Inline6Silvia (Feb 7, 2013)

*Baking the Sipik 68*

I did a brief search and didn't find any threads on this. So If I overlooked a thread then forgive me. Some guys over on the EDC forums are changing the color of our Sipik 68s by baking them. I think they look great after the baking. Here is what mine looked like after I took it out of the oven


[URL=http://imgur.com/I7LbMs3]

[/URL]

Some guys are even achieving a gold color. Some can even get the lens to come out and bake their front bezel to match. I unfortunately couldn't get my lense out. I may order another one of these lights and try to do the gold color. I love the copper color mine turned out but I have an itch to do a gold one too.


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## DUQ (Feb 8, 2013)

*Re: Baking the Sipik 68*

Wow that's cool! I'm ordering two of those right now. Not bad for $8.70 each.


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## tobrien (Feb 8, 2013)

*Re: Baking the Sipik 68*

why is it color changing due to baking? is it safe to continue using the oven?


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## think2x (Feb 8, 2013)

*Re: Baking the Sipik 68*



tobrien said:


> why is it color changing due to baking? is it safe to continue using the oven?




It's safe Tucker, I did my 5D Maglite some time ago. There is a thread titled "Flame activated Anodize coloring"

Very cool IMO. The key is to get the right temperature for the right time, different thicknesses of aluminum take different time frames to achieve a uniform color. (EI thin bezel ring vs. thick body)


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## tobrien (Feb 8, 2013)

*Re: Baking the Sipik 68*



think2x said:


> It's safe Tucker, I did my 5D Maglite some time ago. There is a thread titled "Flame activated Anodize coloring"
> 
> Very cool IMO. The key is to get the right temperature for the right time, different thicknesses of aluminum take different time frames to achieve a uniform color. (EI thin bezel ring vs. thick body)



okay gotcha. I was thinking so far as safety went that fumes from whatever chemical/physical change is going on might not make it safe for food afterwards in the oven haha


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