Question about Ivanko black oxide durability.

[mdis]

I am looking at possibly getting the new Ivanko OBZ-40 curl bar when it is released sometime this February. How does the Ivanko black oxide finish hold up? Is it durable? This is for a home gym and I will be the only one using it. My gym is in a finished basement and moisture/rust is not a concern. This bar will be used both inside and outside of my power rack. Should the finish hold up pretty well? I have a bar that has a black zinc coating and black zinc is very easily scratched. Am I correct to believe that black oxide is more durable? I don't think I want to buy a high end curl bar only to have it very scuffed up in a few years.

For those that have Ivanko black oxide bars...how have they held up?

Thanks

[mdis]

Bump

[Detrus]

You mean black zinc is scratched on the sleeves by plates?

From what I heard black oxide is not for people who care about looks.

[mdis]

You mean black zinc is scratched on the sleeves by plates?

From what I heard black oxide is not for people who care about looks.

It would be tough not to care about looks if I spend that much on an Ivanko curl bar.

As much as i read about the topic, i still dont fully understand black zinc vs black oxide. Black zinc is scratched very easily on the sleeves by sliding plates on and off. The shaft of the bar is scratched easily too. J-cups without UHMW plastic will really scratch up the bar. Will ivanko's black oxide scratch off like my Rogue power bar black zinc? Is there a source where ivanko talks about their black oxide process?

[AttyGuy]

It would be tough not to care about looks if I spend that much on an Ivanko curl bar.

Dude, are you going to use it, or you going to look at it and touch yourself?

If you are using the bar, it's going to show wear. Every finish (including no finish) has its pros and cons. That bar is going to outlast you and any children for whom you claim paternity. . . .

[ProtienandIron]

OP, if you want your bar to look like its in a catalogue photo, you're going to have to store it away somewhere. Accept its going to get usage scars, keep on top of the maintenance, and it will grow old gracefully. IMO when you buy a good bar, it will look good no matter what scratches it has on it.

[BloodType3R]

If you are worried about black oxide.. then black oxide aint for you.

Yes, it will show wear. Black zinc shows distinct linear scratches whereas black oxide wear will be more like a blury smudge.

[Biggerfoot]

I bought one about six years ago. It has held up very well.

Here is a photo of it after about year...it has not changed much from this photo...there is some spotting from sweat but that is about it:

[BloodType3R]

^Yours has fared better than mine.. Then again, I recieved mine in a somewhat neglected (second hand) state.

[thejosef]

Is the stainless steel version out of the question? Seems like it would be tops for durability.. maybe.. I actually have no personal experience with either but from my lil bit of research, stainless seems to be the best, albeit most expensive, option. I too have a black zinc Rogue bar.. with basically no more black zinc on it. I would imagine ANYTHING is more durable than black zinc.. just my opinion.

[BloodType3R]

Is the stainless steel version out of the question? Seems like it would be tops for durability.. maybe.. I actually have no personal experience with either but from my lil bit of research, stainless seems to be the best, albeit most expensive, option. I too have a black zinc Rogue bar.. with basically no more black zinc on it. I would imagine ANYTHING is more durable than black zinc.. just my opinion.

Do you have any pics?
I'd really like to see what Rogue's black zinc looks like when it's worn out.. future purchase posibilities, ya know?

[Detrus]

Do you have any pics?
I'd really like to see what Rogue's black zinc looks like when it's worn out.. future purchase posibilities, ya know?

My bright zinc sleeves look like tortured hell and I'm the only one using them, once or twice a week for 4 months. I have revolvers and the 35s fit super tight, they don't have that bevel around the hole, are loud as hell to put on/take off and scratch it to hell.

Looks like even stainless steel inserts cause some wear. The Rogue bars here have scratches along the circumference from what looks like drops? And the single bar has a few deep horizontal scratches. I have like 50.




That Eleiko seems to be in better condition, I think it's hard chrome.

But this is all just useless curiosity. It seemed strange to me at first but whatever. The knurl on Rogue bars bothers me more with heavy lifts. With Ivanko their knurls look just right, the angles on curl bars probably feel better etc. Even if it looks like brown scratched hell you'll love touching it.

[thejosef]

Do you have any pics?
I'd really like to see what Rogue's black zinc looks like when it's worn out.. future purchase posibilities, ya know?

I can take some, but I doubt they would help. I was using cheap CAP weights on the black/silver edition Rogue bar (black sleeves, silver bar) and I guess the inside of the weights was so rough, it would just rub a line of the black off the sleeves every time I put one a weight on (leaving silver zinc underneath). It pissed me off so I took my dremel to the sleeves and the black is now all gone except on the innermost part of the sleeve near the bar. What can I say.. OCD much? I do like it better now

[Detrus]

It pissed me off so I took my dremel to the sleeves and the black is now all gone except on the innermost part of the sleeve near the bar. What can I say.. OCD much? I do like it better now

So you uncovered the bright zinc underneath or bare steel? Because bright zinc scratches to hell too.

[sherman]

Lot's of stuff on the web about black oxide coating. Seems like a good coating. Sleeves take a lot of punishment that could affect any finish, but it should hold up pretty well on the grip section. Here's a good article about the coating. http://www.swdinc.com/BlackOxideBasics.html

[ICEcap2]

I have OBS-20 7' stainless Ivanko and black oxide OBZ-30 curl bar. Both bars have very fine ridges on the sleeve. The stainless doesn't show much wear, the curl bar show the tops of the ridges blackness wearing off. Giving it a striped like look.

[Skidmarx]

It pissed me off so I took my dremel to the sleeves and the black is now all gone except on the innermost part of the sleeve near the bar.

Haha. I stripped the black oxide off my 2 commercial grade curl bars with a little concrete stain cleaners(phosphoric acid) and it comes right off on a rag. Good stuff. Only thing is with no coating, the knurl is REALLY sharp now, so I have to wear my gloves with those bars or I get shredded. Maybe I should hit em' with some sandpaper.

[DrForce]

It would be tough not to care about looks if I spend that much on an Ivanko curl bar.

If you're worried about looks, you either need a bare steel bar or a stainless steel bar, neither of which has any coating. I just did a review of the Ivanko stainless steel power bar. http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...hp?t=151345713

[rpark]

I've got the black oxide ivanko curl bar. Quite frankly, I'm not impressed. After about a month of very light usage, the grip area started to rust. I understand these bars need maintenance attention, but I'm guessing mine had been sitting around for quite some time, as it really shouldn't rust that quickly considering how little I had used it.

Just my .02

[thejosef]

So you uncovered the bright zinc underneath or bare steel? Because bright zinc scratches to hell too.

Good question. It's not exactly bright, so if I had to guess, it's probably to the bare steel. I didn't really see 2 separate layers though, so maybe they only had black zinc on the sleeves. I wipe my bar with WD-40 once every week or so so I haven't really seen any signs of rust.. but it's only been like that for 2 months now since I removed the black zinc. It's kinda become my beater bar for high rep Crossfit stuff so I'm really not too concerned with the looks of it anymore. I must say, the knurl and function of this Rogue bar are damn good though.

[mdis]

Dude, are you going to use it, or you going to look at it and touch yourself?

If you are using the bar, it's going to show wear. Every finish (including no finish) has its pros and cons. That bar is going to outlast you and any children for whom you claim paternity. . . .

Haha, my equipment gets used hard but is well take care of. I feel like a curl bar for that much money is a bit of a vanity piece and certainly not something I need. I dont mind the worn look on some of my equipment like my Rogue Power Bar. The wear marks look like they belong on the bar.

I bought one about six years ago. It has held up very well.

Here is a photo of it after about year...it has not changed much from this photo...there is some spotting from sweat but that is about it:

Thanks for posting the picture. I actually saw that picture the other day when you posted. I think its always tough to judge how worn something is by looking at pictures on my computer, so i appreciate your written description of the bar as well.

So you uncovered the bright zinc underneath or bare steel? Because bright zinc scratches to hell too.

Really? In my experience bright zinc as seemed pretty durable and I thought that was part of the appeal of bright zinc. I have a pendlay HD bushing bar that is a couple of years old and it still looks quite new. To be fair though, I dont use it as much as my other bars though.

Lot's of stuff on the web about black oxide coating. Seems like a good coating. Sleeves take a lot of punishment that could affect any finish, but it should hold up pretty well on the grip section. Here's a good article about the coating. [/url]

Thanks for the article.

I have OBS-20 7' stainless Ivanko and black oxide OBZ-30 curl bar. Both bars have very fine ridges on the sleeve. The stainless doesn't show much wear, the curl bar show the tops of the ridges blackness wearing off. Giving it a striped like look.

Thanks for the feedback.

If you're worried about looks, you either need a bare steel bar or a stainless steel bar, neither of which has any coating. I just did a review of the Ivanko stainless steel power bar.

I enjoyed reading that review the other day...Looks like an awesome bar. I have been tempted by the stainless steel Ivanko OBZ-55 as well as the stainless steel curl bar by GP Industries. I cant find any reviews of the GP curl bar though. I know extremistpullup thinks highly of his GP power bar.

I've got the black oxide ivanko curl bar. Quite frankly, I'm not impressed. After about a month of very light usage, the grip area started to rust. I understand these bars need maintenance attention, but I'm guessing mine had been sitting around for quite some time, as it really shouldn't rust that quickly considering how little I had used it.

Just my .02

Wow, thats really surprising to hear. But I really appreciate the feedback. Have you had issues with rust on your other equipment? Rust isn't particularly an issue in my gym.

[mdis]

Thanks to everyone who replied. There were some great responses and I really enjoyed reading through them. I will keep you guys posted. Likely wont be ordering until the updated versions of Ivanko's curl bars come out in mid to late February. Will post pics when it happens.

[rpark]

Wow, thats really surprising to hear. But I really appreciate the feedback. Have you had issues with rust on your other equipment? Rust isn't particularly an issue in my gym.

The only other rust I have is on two of my ivanko 45's, no other rust on any other equipment or bars (includes 16 or so selectorized or plate machines), my gym is indoors in my finished basement (dehumidifier, carpet, drywall, etc).

[mdis]

The only other rust I have is on two of my ivanko 45's, no other rust on any other equipment or bars (includes 16 or so selectorized or plate machines), my gym is indoors in my finished basement (dehumidifier, carpet, drywall, etc).

Thanks for the reply. You seem to have a great set-up...very impressed. What a bummer about the rust on the curl bar. Have you given any thought to what curl bar you would buy today if you had it to do it over?

[BloodType3R]

This bar was pretty badly abused by it's previous owner, never cleaned/oiled a single time and, then left in a shed for about 6 months.

I gave it a thorough cleaning with WD-40 around the beginning of last summer but have not oiled it since then. The bar gets used at most, every other week and is kept in a humid garage.

With that history in mind, I find myself both dissapointed AND impressed with the coating.

[BloodType3R]

Good question. It's not exactly bright, so if I had to guess, it's probably to the bare steel. I didn't really see 2 separate layers though, so maybe they only had black zinc on the sleeves. I wipe my bar with WD-40 once every week or so so I haven't really seen any signs of rust.. but it's only been like that for 2 months now since I removed the black zinc. It's kinda become my beater bar for high rep Crossfit stuff so I'm really not too concerned with the looks of it anymore. I must say, the knurl and function of this Rogue bar are damn good though.

That's pretty much what I wanted to know about the black zinc. There is definitely bright zinc under the black.. that's the process of creating black zinc coating.

So it turned more of a charcoal color when the black wore away (rather than silver)? It sounds like that's how you are describing it?? and the pic that Detrus shared seems to have that charcoal appearance.

I'm still definitely interested in seeing a clear pic of worn-out Rogue black oxide (especially of the shaft).. Would greatly aprecciate if anyone has one to share.

[thejosef]

That's pretty much what I wanted to know about the black zinc. There is definitely bright zinc under the black.. that's the process of creating black zinc coating.

So it turned more of a charcoal color when the black wore away (rather than silver)? It sounds like that's how you are describing it?? and the pic that Detrus shared seems to have that charcoal appearance.

Here's a quick shot of the sleeve after sanding the black zinc off, if that helps any:



Here's the only remnants left of the black zinc.. ha

[Detrus]

Yea that's bare steel. Every bar in my pics has it's bright zinc coating largely intact.

[Vmango]

The black zinc on the sleeves of my Rogue Operator Bar is wearing through to the bright zinc underneath - just from loading/unloading weight. I will try to remember to take a pic for you tonight.

I don't find any of this a big deal as if you're working hard in the ol' gym your bars are gonna age.

The rest of the bar coating has held up well, though.

[IvankoBarbellCo]

I've got the black oxide ivanko curl bar. Quite frankly, I'm not impressed. After about a month of very light usage, the grip area started to rust. I understand these bars need maintenance attention, but I'm guessing mine had been sitting around for quite some time, as it really shouldn't rust that quickly considering how little I had used it.

Just my .02

Which model no.? Can you stop by our shop so we can analyze your ph balance? If it's an American bar, the finish is to mil spec. Perhaps there's some sort of chemical reaction we need to study.