Titanium frame: using copper grease

Question

I just took home a shiny Van Nicholas Amazon frame. The bike shop provided me with some copper grease and told me to apply it on the bottom bracket, otherwise the frame would suffer from "cold bonding" over the years. Looking further in to it, I read that is best to apply it on every metal to titanium contact. I want to keep this frame for life, so I think this is important enough.

Question: does that go as well for :

• the length of the seatpost that sits in the frame ?
• seat clamp ?
• bottle cage bosses ?
• rear derailleur ?
• front derailleur clamp ?

And, should I apply it wealthy or just a thin coat is enough ?

Edit: here is how I used the copper grease :

Answer 1

I would say yes, use copper grease / ti prep / anti-seize on any titanium-to-metal contact (and especially ti to aluminum) that you anticipate staying put for a long period of time.

Length of the seatpost - yes Seat post clamp - yes Bottle cages bolts - yes Rear derailleur - yes

The front derailleur clamp seems more questionable because it isn't threaded or a tight fit in theory, but sure, why not? Applying liberally is better— you want the copper grease to stay put through washes and rain to do its job.

Answer 2

I believe it was not necessary to grease the front derailleur clamp. The official instructions for Shimano FDs don't mention grease. Neither do the Park Tools instructions.

By "cold bonding", I think the original poster was probably referring to galvanic corrosion, which is a potential problem between titanium and aluminum. The copper in the anti-seize should arrest that corrosion.

Now, why might this not be an issue with the seat clamp, yet recommended elsewhere? Aluminum parts are anodized and clear coated. That by itself reduces the likelihood of oxidation, and it would physically separate the aluminum metal from the titanium. When you thread in a bottom bracket or you slide a seat post into a frame, you most likely would rub off that clear coat, at least in some spots. Same for pressing in headset cups or BB cups, if that frame had a press fit BB. When you clamp an FD on, I don't think you rub the clear coat off. Additionally, grease would increase the chance that the FD could slide down.

Speaking of this, the one point the original poster may have forgotten to mention was the headset. However, the headset may already have been installed in the frame.