Tattooing Architecture. Really?

Posted by on 23 September 2020

It’s not often that tattoos and architecture are talked about in the same sentence. But this is something special.

The team working on a prominent project in mid-town Manhattan, NYC needed some creativity and special coating work.  IFS Coatings and QPC stepped in to help. 

A terracotta tile is installed on the building, however there was a section of the building where they need to reproduce a similar look on an aluminum extrusion or panel. 

The tile is approximately one feet wide, curved and around four feet long, and as you can see, has a faded look to central section. And of course it has a high gloss glaze. 

Architectural performance powder was a great choice, not only for the variety of colors and effects possible, but for the tough durable protection and improved sustainability footprint compared to liquid paint.  

Quality Powder Coating, TX, worked closely with the exteriors supplier and in bringing their design creativity and clever sublimation technique, were able to recreate the look the team needed. QPC created an exact plotter print match to apply on a concave custom aluminum extrusion, customizing the width of the glaze puddle itself, the speckled color tones, and of course the gloss level.

The sublimation technique uses a powder base coat, and then essentially “tattoos” the powder with ink, to create the pattern or look desired. The raw aluminum surface is pretreated in the usual way (essentially a chemical conversion). The powder is electrostatically applied – around 2.5 mils layer of nonhazardous, solvent free powder coating – and then cured.

To add the decorative element, a preprinted film transfer with organic photosensitive pigments and cellulose resin is wrapped around the product and a vacuum sucks the air out so it lies flat against the powder coated surface. It then goes into an oven, where the ink pigments turn from solid into gas and back to solid inside the coating layer. After cooling, the film is removed and you’re left with aluminum that looks like all sorts of different things! There are some incredible designs/patterns - and some crazy ones, check them out at the bottom of the article.

As for this impressive, 67 floor skyscraper, the design intent was completed and the construction team were able to get around the delicate and heavy nature of the original terracotta.

 Check out some more of the (sometimes crazy!) effects available: