News

Beetles, game changers and thermoplastic powder coatings

Wednesday March 20, 2019

The Lac bug. A small beetle-like insect. And the unlikely resin source for one of the most remarkable game changing advancements in coatings technology. Shellac. In the 19th century, Shellac was a new comer super star blowing away conventional wax and oil coatings with superior performance. Game changer.

It's big. It's heavy weight. It's impressive. It looks great...

Tuesday March 19, 2019

It's powder coated.

First impressions are important. Everyone knows that. And this beautiful gate provides an impressive entry and certainly leaves a lasting impression. A lot of care, hard work and detail went into hand crafting this incredible piece. Believe it or not, it's hand made.

Yes, you heard right.

Gate clos eup Metallic Bronze PLSS90003CN LR

It's a two panel gate and each panel weighs a whopping 4000 lbs as solid iron was used in the design. The pickets are 1-1/2" solid square.

Similar to a woodworker using a chisel to create a newel post, some of the pickets were twisted and the others were ground down to get the desired design.

Primo, from Metal & Iron Artistry LLC in Granger, WA spent a lot of time and effort handcrafting this design to ensure every detail was perfect. "We take pride in our work and aim to create exactly what our customers want. Choosing a high quality powder finish is part of that."

The gate, hinges, the caps on the pillars, and the lamps with the LR logo (also made by hand) are all powder coated in IFS Metallic Bronze. To achieve the desired effect, the shinier goldish trim was first burned with a torch and then clear coated with IFS Purecoat. Primo explains "I've tried several clearcoats out there but IFS is the best."

See the short video here...

Architectural coatings - what does it take to apply them?

Tuesday March 19, 2019

The simple answer is a great pretreatment system, careful and skilled application and high quality oven management. Ok, so that’s not so simple. But for many exterior applications a Registered Applicator may be required. So, to help explain what’s required and why, we spoke to Dave, an experienced applicator of powder coatings.