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THE FST II |
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THE FST II |
Do you have cracks, breaks, stripped bosses, bent or dented titanium parts ? Even if we didn't make it, we can often fix it. Titanium is a very repairable material. It can be welded and re-welded with no adverse effects if care is taken for distorsion and proper welding techniques. Often, the repair can be finished so it's invisible (or virtually). Repairing is not just welding. Replacement parts can be fabricated in titanium for the old one that is just too wrecked. Dented tubes on frames, destroyed cable stops, etc. can all be replaced.
The same service applies for altering old ti parts and frames. We can change lengths, bosses, cable stops, angles, etc.. All work that FST II does is covered under our general warranty. All repair/alteration work is based on a U.S. $55/hourly charge, minimum 1 hour (typical crack repair will take an hour) + material. And, of course, any desired finish can be applied to this or any other titanium object, even bolts.
Titanium anodizing, on the other hand, obtains its colors from how light refracts through the layer of titanium oxide. The different colors comes from different thicknesses of ti-oxide. There is a limited spectrum of colors and shades available with «ti-odizing». Titanium anodizing is about as durable as standard alu. anodizing. It is also changeable, if later you want a different finish.
Colors are : several shades of blue, yellow and gold, shades of pink, purples, turquoise, and a few greens. Some of these last colors are not always obtainable, it depends on the circumstances (what alloy weldrod was used, the quality of the welding, different attached parts alloy composition, etc...) We can do solid colors, broken colors, fades, combos of all effects. It can be done on : bolts, chain rings and cogs, stem, bars, bar-ends, frames, axles, seatposts, seat rails, spokes, skewers, etc... Dismantling parts will be charged.
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Regular (traditional) titanium finishes are the natural titanium metal treated in some way to give a uniform appearance. The 3 following techniques are the most common :
BRUSHING :
A light, often stainless steel wire brush (to avoid rust marks later) is used to leave very lightdirectional scratchs to the surface. It gives a bright, attractive, durable and easy to maintain finish. Merlin is known for their brushed products.
BEAD BLASTING :
Tiny glass beads are shot against the titanium part at high velocity, leaving a very even, dark matte surface. Very industrial. Must be re-blasted to remove scratches.
Litespeed and Sandvik products often come bead blasted.
POLISHING :
Usually a wax compound containing abrasives is applied to a cloth wheel, which, in turn, is spun against the part. The surface can become anywhere from shiny to mirror-like, depending on the amount of time spent. This is probably the most difficult to maintain finish, but it is very nice looking. Ibis and again Litespeed have used this type of finish.
We offer all our products in all 3 finishes, plus anodizing. Also, we will do your existing titanium parts in any of these finishes. It can be done on:Stems, bars, bar-ends, frames, seatposts, etc... Some parts may not polish well, most parts will brush nicely and all parts will beadblast. Dismantling of parts will be charged.
