High polish on titanium

Jewelry Discussion
1

I recently bought some titanium rings from Rio Grande with the idea
if altering the surface just for fun. The edges and inside of these
rings are super shiny. I have never managed to get a polish like
this on titanium. Can anyone tell me how this is acheived?

Thanks!
Noel

2 
I recently bought some titanium rings from Rio Grande with the
idea if altering the surface just for fun. The edges and inside of
these rings are super shiny. I have never managed to get a polish
like this on titanium. Can anyone tell me how this is acheived?

The rings from Rio are more than likely mass finished with some
super secret squirrle process that envolves equipment that hasnt even
been developed yet. ;-).

But, to answer your question, lots of surface prep. Ive gotten away
with sanding down to about 400/600 (or ruberized abrasive). From
there I use a bobbing compound to smooth everything out, then a white
rouge for a final polish, both on a stiched yellow buff.

Im not sure what grade Ti you are using, but this works well with
6al4v titanium. I suspect CP titanium might be a bit more difficult
to get a super high polish.

What ever you do, do NOT use a grey deburring wheel on titanium, it
tends to smear the surface. The real trick with finishing titanium
by hand is sharp abrasives and lots of compound. Also plan on
spending more time on the buff than you think you have to.

Good luck,
P@

3

I managed to get a very high polish on titanium; sanding and then
using compound on a buffing wheel. I actually found that the more CP
the titanium is, the easier it is to polish because it is softer.
However, any grade can be polished, it just takes time. It might
take as much as twice as long as white gold, so be patient.

I agree, the trick is a lot of prep - start rough with sanding and go
to at least 600 if not bit higher. Rubber abrasives wheels work too,
but the titanium gets extremely hot and often the causes the wheel to
break down faster because of the heat. It should look nearly polished
when you are done sanding. From there, my favorite compounds were
Greystar (first) and Zam (final). By that point they should be nice
and shiny!