Titanium Un-walk the dog *picture thread"

I would love to see some before and after pics of what can be done to get scratches out of titanium. I have tried with a buffing wheel, but no real luck. I didnt really put that much effort into it though.
I just got a yoyo that has been heavily walked. I just ordered an allotment of sandpaper ranging from 120 to 5000, so I should have it covered.
I will be adding pics when I have some.
Heres the damage on my planned attempt.

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Iā€™ve heard that Scotch Brite pads work wonders. I got my first case and sov and Magnum from you. That was a good tax year. I once asked you to blow cws for company. Howā€™s my black BiZ??

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Thats a great trade memory! Did you get my numbered sov? Wanna sell it back? Lol
About 6 years ago i sold almost everything to buy a house. That biz was sweet!

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I highly recommend using the 3M micromesh wet sanding pads! I will use the 12000 grit from time to time to touch up scuffs on my Ti-Vayder. Havenā€™t done a full buff on a Ti yoyo like this, but based on other projects (refinishing guitar lacquer) I know it should provide good results. Just be careful to sand evenly all around or you may produce some vibe. Best of luck! :slight_smile:

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What yoyo is that? I have a Ricochet that I purchased sparked, i have used some 1200 grit to take the edge down a bit


Here was a Sovereign I did for someone a while back.

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This is exactly why i made this post!!!
Double awesome because not only was that a great job, but im pretty sure i owned that one!
Any tips or tricks?

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Its a sal ti

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You got the right idea going through all the grits. I used 220 to get all the scratches out then moved up to 3000 through each individual grit. Around 400 grit I started wet sanding. Wet sanding titanium actually makes it a lot easier because titanium heats up very easily. Once I got to 3000 grit, I used Meguiars metal polish. I found my usual Motherā€™s polish didnā€™t work as well on titanium. I do want to experiment with some diamond rubbing compounds, see if those can give that perfect mirror finish on titanium. Best thing you can do to make this easier for yourself is making sure the yoyo half spins true on the drill or on the lathe. Good luck!

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nice work @yoyospirit :+1: youve got skills bro!

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Thanks!

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Make me some Ti side caps for my Independent. Please.

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Haha, I wish I could. Titanium is notoriously difficult to cut. Mini lathes almost have no shot unless one wants to spend the whole day doing it. Btw do you have an Independent from the first run or the second?

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Pretty sure itā€™s the second run, itā€™s purple if that helps. Great work by the way. I love taking to the makers of my devices.

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Haha, I didnā€™t really do much besides come up with the project. Glad you like it! The idea was I really liked the Duncan MG, but its also a very inaccessible throw to some being rare and expensive. Also not to mention magnesium is a very fickle and not insanely durable material. So the idea of a proper Metal Freehand machined from 7075 aluminum popped into my head.

The original CAD was designed by Tyler Hsieh from Unparalleled Yoyos, then was modified by another friend to have the bearing put in and rims rounded, as well as smoothed out some areas. The final product was actually a mistake, the machine shop, YoyoEmpire, had to redraw the profile because their computer was not able to process the CAD correctly for whatever reason. The redrawn profile was slightly more V shaped, and that caused the weight to drop by about a gram per half. I wasnā€™t able to tell from the drawing but noticed a difference in profile side by side with a FHZ and the original.

The difference in profile was definitely a blessing. The Independent V1s played a lot like a FHZ and MG, but were different. They were fairly heavy, slow, and felt clunky on the string. The Independent V2 plays way more nimble than the original and is much more comfortable to hold in the hand. The lighter weight made it have even more of that light hollow FHZ and MG feeling, but the yoyo itself was much more stable and a better performer all together. Definitely hit all the check marks I planned for the project and more.

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@yoyospirit Any new projects in the works?

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Nah not really right now. Gotta focus on school, looking to start graduate schooling soon. Also thereā€™s so many different yoyos out there right now haha. The Independent V2 was basically all I wanted in my own yoyo. I gotta grab one of the new Metal Freehands from Duncan. Those look sick!

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Are you sure about this?
I advise you to try, you will be pleasantly surprised.

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Stonewash that bad boy

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i love the sovereign!