David Locklear said:
Sears now sells some automotive tools that come in a pretty blue titanium color.
I don't think the blue color of those tools is due to the titanium, at
least not to the usual titanium nitride hard coating that is typically applied
to tools. That stuff is gold colored. It is typically applied to prevent
surface wear, which wouldn't be much of an issue with wrenches. I'll bet that
color is just to make you want them more. ;-)
would you feel safer rappeling on a rack or a clipped to a carabiner that is
coated in some kind of shiny color made of titanium dioxide versus aluminum
oxide?
The only purpose of those coatings is to help prevent wear. The fact that
they are colored does make wear more noticeable once the coating is gone and
you're down to the metal below. The only reason to choose one over the other
would be how well it wears. In my limited experience, the titanium nitride
hard coatings are not as robust as aluminum oxide anodizing (not a coating so
much as a surface treatment), but perhaps the coating was not as thick, even if
it is technically harder. I have not heard of titanium dioxide coatings.
Mark Minton
