HELP NEEDED! Trying to blue / heat anodize stainless steel

H

Heater2

Joined
Jun 13, 2018
Messages
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Hi Everyone,

I'm working on a project where I'm blueing some stainless steel with a blow torch.

Its a hollow stainless rod. When I complete it it looks good but after around a week SOME of them go like this:

https://ibb.co/m84Dxy

(Don't know why it wont let me imbed the image)

Can anyone help suggest why this happens on some rods I complete and not others?
 
Can you post the method you are using ?

I think it is because the temperature you reach are uneven, to obtain even color on multiple part they must reach the same temperature for about the same period of time if you are already doing it correctly there might be difference in the metal composition you are treating causing difference in resulting colors.

See this https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/heat-anodizing-steel.1155727/
Also this https://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-colour-steel-with-HEAT/
And this https://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=140

HTH.
 
Hi SteelJunkee

Method is as follows:

Fit rod into drill and set at constant speed
Clean rods with acetone on clean rag
Use butane and propane mix blow torch to achieve colour range
Quench in water
Dry

The weird thing is that they look great for around 4-5 days then deteriorate.

Any more advice is welcome
 
Do you want absolutely blue ? I think oil quenching would help fixing your color but it would tend to go darker.
 
Heater2 said:
Hi SteelJunkee

Method is as follows:

Fit rod into drill and set at constant speed
Clean rods with acetone on clean rag
Use butane and propane mix blow torch to achieve colour range
Quench in water
Dry

The weird thing is that they look great for around 4-5 days then deteriorate.

Any more advice is welcome
Click to expand...
My guess would be that it is oxidizing. Can you try "sealing" it with some kind of clear coat?
 
Thanks so much for the replies guys.

IF it is oxidising then quenching in oil will stop it from doing this? Any oil in particular? As I said it generally takes 4-5 days before they go bad and some never do! Difficutl to fathom what is happening.

Thanks everyone
 
Take the lightest oil you can find because, like i said before, it will darken and if the polymerization is incomplete because the oil layer is too thick you would need to complete it in an oven because the parts will remain sticky from the oil left of the incomplete process, follow the links i gave in my fist post it will give you a good idea of the result you will obtain.

The mixed results you have are because of inconsistencies in the process you are using or simply your tubes have not all the exact same composition and that is why some succeed and some fails if you are about done with coloring your parts I would continue the same way you proceed and discard the flopped ones just to maintain color uniformity because the process really turns the oil in polymer and these are quite opaque a bit like seasoning a cast iron skillet.
 
Thanks, your input really means a lot. I'll give the oil quenching a try. My concern with the way I've been doing it is the longevity of the parts - is it a case that if they don't go bad within a couple of weeks through oxidisation they'll be fine? or will they all do it at some point without oil quenching / clear coat?

Thanks again
 
Have completed a few oil quenched / clear coated samples. Interestingly they both dull the colour to a similar level.

Can anyone comment on if either of these methods are as good as each other? or if one is favourable?

Thanks again everyone, great forum.
 
Heater2 said:
Have completed a few oil quenched / clear coated samples. Interestingly they both dull the colour to a similar level.

Can anyone comment on if either of these methods are as good as each other? or if one is favourable?

Thanks again everyone, great forum.
Click to expand...
Cool! Let us know what happens with them. As far as one being favourable over the other...I think it's just what is going to work for your purposes and which is more convenient for you.
 
One last question...

How about the tubes which have been over a week ago and show NO signs of oxidization? Could these still be sealed with a clear coat to preserve them and stop them turning bad?
 
Struggling to get a lacquer to stick to the stainless steel with any real durability and the oil does dull the colour quite a bit.

Can anyone answer if getting these tubes made from TITANIUM would resolve this issue without the need to seal them? i.e will titanium oxidize in the same way that my stainless steel is?

Thanks a lot to anyone who can answer here.
 
Heater2 said:
Struggling to get a lacquer to stick to the stainless steel with any real durability and the oil does dull the colour quite a bit.

Can anyone answer if getting these tubes made from TITANIUM would resolve this issue without the need to seal them? i.e will titanium oxidize in the same way that my stainless steel is?

Thanks a lot to anyone who can answer here.
Click to expand...

Does the lacquer sticks to the water quenched ones ? Did you try to just let them simply air cool ?
 
I actually completed a few 'air cooled' ones last Thursday but haven't tried lacquering them - these still look good with no signs of oxidization.

Are your thoughts that the lacquer may adhere to the 'air cooled' ones better than the water quenched? or that the air cooled ones may not oxidize at all?

Any thoughts on if titanium will react in the same way?

Thanks a lot for your input
 
Heater2 said:
I actually completed a few 'air cooled' ones last Thursday but haven't tried lacquering them - these still look good with no signs of oxidization.

Are your thoughts that the lacquer may adhere to the 'air cooled' ones better than the water quenched? or that the air cooled ones may not oxidize at all?

Any thoughts on if titanium will react in the same way?

Thanks a lot for your input
Click to expand...

Of course the lacquer should stick pretty well on those that have not been oiled and those water quenched as well. I never tried titanium. Still it is a forced oxidation process but titanium oxide unlike iron oxide sticks tightly to the metal. i just can't tell if your coloration will remain as you wish with time.
 
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