# Matte vs Brushed Ti



## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

I'd like to hear opinions on the two main types of titanium finishes -

The matte blasted finish of frames like Moots, Potts and Lynskey Cooper.
The bushed finish (3M Scotchbrite I'll assume) like Seven Cycles, Lynskey brushed ones, Spectrum (now made by Seven).

I've had a brushed Seven mountain bike frame for about 12 years and it's fine but I was maybe thinking of a matte finish on a new road frame I might get until I heard stories of the matte finish really showing dirt and fingerprints.

I keep my brushed Seven easily clean with Pledge.

So does the matte show the dirt more and does it take scuffs worse than a brushed finish?


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## Mel Erickson (Feb 3, 2004)

Mike T. said:


> I'd like to hear opinions on the two main types of titanium finishes -
> 
> The matte blasted finish of frames like Moots, Potts and Lynskey Cooper.
> The bushed finish (3M Scotchbrite I'll assume) like Seven Cycles, Lynskey brushed ones, Spectrum (now made by Seven).
> ...


No real difference, other than aesthetics, but the brushed finish is easier to "touch up" with a scotchbrite pad.


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## TWB8s (Sep 18, 2003)

I have a Seven as well as a Lemond and both are brushed. When I get around to cleaning them I loves the Scotch Brite pad.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

TWB8s said:


> I have a Seven as well as a Lemond and both are brushed. When I get around to cleaning them I loves the Scotch Brite pad.


What do you do about the decals when you Scotchbrite?


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## DrD (Feb 5, 2000)

Mike T. said:


> What do you do about the decals when you Scotchbrite?


Obviously you don't scrape over the decals - the scotchbrite pad is good for getting rid of any scratches or marks which show up, so you use it locally - you don't generally need to do the whole frame.


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## Kuma601 (Jan 22, 2004)

I've applied a blasted finish to various Ti, it does show prints, oils easily. A satin brushed is very easy to care for. All in your tastes. If you gouge or mar the blasted finish you'll have to resort to another media blasting or if small, one of the small air erasers. (Think air brush but with a very fine blast media.)

My vote for brushed.


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## looigi (Nov 24, 2010)

I've had a matte Ti bike as my main ride for 10 years and it's been fine cosmetically. Perhaps I'm not as anal as others wrt the cosmetics but I've simply washed it when needed. I quick wipe with Pledge, WD40, Windex, or just about anything will tidy it up. Personally, I prefer the aesthetics of the matte finish.


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## pigpen (Sep 28, 2005)

I like brushed (Merlin etc.)


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## TWB8s (Sep 18, 2003)

Mike T. said:


> What do you do about the decals when you Scotchbrite?



What decals? My original Seven decals flaked off after 2 years and Seven doesn't off the old font. I don't care for the current font so I haven't put new decals on her. To remove the decals completely I soaked them in acetone (finger nail polish remover). The only decal in good shape is the one by the bottom bracket for the "Rob Vendemark" Design. The Lemond is a prototype so it lacks decals as well. I have taken a Sharpie and written things on the tubing when I'm of a mind to, but acetone and Scotchbrite takes it off.


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## Chris Keller (May 19, 2008)

I have a custom ti bike by Rich Gangl of Golden, CO. It is half painted with brushed lower downtube, lower seat tube, seat stays and chain stays. Love the combination...I prefer the brushed look of ti. The paint helps set it apart from other ti bikes.


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## 1819Bags (Jun 18, 2007)

Does anyone have a comparison of Lynskey's industrial mill finish and hand brushed? It's hard for me to get a good feel from looking at the pictures on the website. I'm familiar with the look of the hand brushed, having seen it in person, but I'm wondering how close the industrial mill finish looks by comparison. Can I save myself $150 to go with the industrial mill and get a similar durability and aesthetic?


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## drejr1 (Dec 11, 2006)

1819Bags said:


> Does anyone have a comparison of Lynskey's industrial mill finish and hand brushed? It's hard for me to get a good feel from looking at the pictures on the website. I'm familiar with the look of the hand brushed, having seen it in person, but I'm wondering how close the industrial mill finish looks by comparison. Can I save myself $150 to go with the industrial mill and get a similar durability and aesthetic?


Hey Bags, 
Both are "scratched" or brushed finishes. The Handbrushed, or what we are now calling Brite Brushed is truly a 3 hour, hand brushed process where our guys use 2" x 10" strips of 7440 Scotch Brite to give even, consistent brush strokes over the entire frame. Industrial Mill brings the tube look back to very similar to what it looks like direct from the "mill". It isn't as shiny, but it is brushed. A wire brush on a power drill is the method used in this process. You should be able to see a video on our Youtube channel showing the difference. Both are nice, for Mtn bikes we normally suggest the Industrial Mill and for Road the full Hand Brushed. Hope that helps.


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## marcalans (Aug 13, 2011)

I know this is a very late post to this thread, but if you already have a mill finish on a Lynskey Ti frame, can it be Brite Brushed over the mill finish with good results?


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## dekindy (Jul 7, 2006)

marcalans said:


> I know this is a very late post to this thread, but if you already have a mill finish on a Lynskey Ti frame, can it be Brite Brushed over the mill finish with good results?


I would also like to know whether you brush the tubes lengthwise or around the circumference. I also saw someone mention circular strokes.


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## Jett (Mar 21, 2004)

Mike T. said:


> I'd like to hear opinions on the two main types of titanium finishes -
> 
> The matte blasted finish of frames like Moots, Potts and Lynskey Cooper.
> The bushed finish (3M Scotchbrite I'll assume) like Seven Cycles, Lynskey brushed ones, Spectrum (now made by Seven).
> ...


I want with brushed with my Lynskey.


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## vagabondcyclist (Apr 2, 2011)

dekindy said:


> I would also like to know whether you brush the tubes lengthwise or around the circumference. I also saw someone mention circular strokes.


Lynskey brushes around the circumference of the tube for the hand brushed finish.


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## mixmaster (Sep 9, 2011)

I would just like a Ti bike. I have only ridden one for 10 miles (buddy let me ride his). Just was the best feeling ever. I hope to buy a frame this winter and build one up. Matte if I had my choice.


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

mixmaster said:


> I would just like a Ti bike. Matte if I had my choice.


I thought I would like Matte, or a 'blasted" finish until I went through the process of ordering and receiving my new frame (6 months old now). I talked with the builder (Kish) and he said that a blasted finish is impossible to touch up if it was to get marked in use. It would need to be re-blasted. My frame was going to be a brushed finish.

When it arrived I was certain that it was a Matte blasted finish and I contacted the builder to ask why I'd received Matte blasted when we had agreed on brushed. He replied, a bit indignantly, that it *was* brushed.

After he assured me that I did get what was promised he added -

_"The main reason I do the finish this way is because it's easy to maintain. A blasted-only finish is not easy to maintain unless you own a blast cabinet. I could save myself a lot of labor if I just did a blasted finish and sent them out like that. I call it brushed because I stand in front of the frames for a lot of hours every week wearing out scotchbrite pads. It's more subtle because the pads I use are very fine. It would save time to use coarser pads, but the result looks bad to my eye, and it's harder to blend if you need to do any work on it further down the road. Your typical blasted or wire/nylox brushed finishes are what I'd consider industrial finishes, done that way for efficiency. Mine is a hand finish. It's anything but efficient. If you need to get rid of any scratches, fingerprints, etc, just get a maroon scotchbrite pad (3M 7447 Scotchbrite) and buff it out, it'll take 5 seconds, You'll see what I mean if you try it. It blends VERY easily. _

It takes close inspection in sunlight for me to be able to see the brushing. It's so fine. On more casual inspection it appears to be a pearly blasted finish.


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## marcalans (Aug 13, 2011)

*Brush over satin matte ti finish*

Does anyone know if you can hand brush over a satin matte finish on a ti frame in order to achieve a bright brushed finish? Is the satin matte finish an actual finish application or just the natural state of the ti?


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## Mike T. (Feb 3, 2004)

marcalans said:


> Does anyone know if you can hand brush over a satin matte finish on a ti frame in order to achieve a bright brushed finish? Is the satin matte finish an actual finish application or just the natural state of the ti?


I'm no expert on this but this is what I think happens to most Ti frames and it's certainly what happened to *my* Ti frame.

The tubes that come from the mill are drawn through dies which leave an industrial texture to the tubing. Below is a pic of some of my tubes (the ones with an M on them) before construction. After assembly the frames are "sand" blasted to impart a uniform matte finish. For some frames this is the final stage. There will be many possible grades of blasting grit depending on what the builder/finisher decides.

A further stage is the brushing process and this depends on the maker and the cost of the finish. For instance, Lynskey offer 4 finishes - Matte Satin, Industrial Mill, Bright Brushed and Polished with upgrades in price, over Matte, being $175, $300 and $2000. I got that info of the Lynskey Cooper page.

My Kish Ti frame was blasted and then finished with 3M Scotchbrite 7447 (there are many grit grades of Scotchbrite, all much finer than the green stuff that Momma uses to shine the pans!) and that 7447 is a very fine one. Some do it with a flap-wheel in an air drill and some use a shoe-shine action manual finish. I have a Seven Cycles Ti frame that's bushed but it's a much coarser finish than my pearly brushed Kish.


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## danl1 (Jul 23, 2005)

marcalans said:


> Does anyone know if you can hand brush over a satin matte finish on a ti frame in order to achieve a bright brushed finish? Is the satin matte finish an actual finish application or just the natural state of the ti?


It is ti that has been bead-blasted with a fairly fine media, relatively speaking. No finish application (eg clearcoat) is applied. 

It's possible to get after it with the right tools and take it to a brushed finish; I've seen someone take their Moots all the way to a mirror polish. I'm not sure I'd want to undertake the effort.


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