After degreasing the titanium sheet, I covered it with clear tape, then laser etched the outline of the numbers. If you look closely at the number 6, you can see an anodized line where the tape was etched away on both sides.
The number 3 is the color you get at 45volts DC. I chained five 9v batteries together by linking their crowns to get the 45v. Brush on little cola as an electrolyte with the anode, and bzzzzz – you get color.
Next, I took off one battery. The number 5 is the color of 36 volts.
The six was last. It’s 27v. Had I realized that I’d get the nice contrasty outline where the laser etched the tape, I would have added another battery or two and put an outline color on all the numbers first.
Higher voltage spots of anodized color cannot be colored by the lower voltages as the oxide layer builds to refract light, so you work from highest voltage to lowest when you’re “painting” titanium with electricity.
This is ring number 365, if you hadn’t guessed already. It’s the end of my Ring-A-Day project, but by no means is it the end of me making rings. This creative exploration has re-energized me and shown me what I’m capable of creating within the limits of a daily deadline. Please bookmark this site and stop back often to see our newest creative projects. Thanks for being a part of this exploration.
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congratulations finishing your great project :-)) you did it!! 🙂
Thanks, it was fun to share it!