Powder coating samples

Some powder coating samples of the colours I use for my jewellery lines.

The bright colours for my Circus lines are all applied with a technique that is called powder coating. It is an industrial technique, most people have many things in their homes that are powdercoated and it is often used for car and motorcycle parts as well.

The basics of the technique are simple. The piece that is to be powdercoated is charged with a very weak electrical current. It is then sprayed with a fine plastic powder. The gun we use is similar to a paint gun, it is connected to an air compressor and the bottles of powder are fitted to the bottom. Because of the electrical charge the fine powder kind of sticks to the metal piece, creating an even layer. The piece is then put in an oven for a set amount of time (depending on the colour) and cured. When it comes out it has a layer of coloured plastic on the surface.

I have been doing a lot of powdercoating for the past couple of years. Lately I have been searching for ways of layering and creating different effects. Some of the samplesI have made are simply adding colours and cleaning of certain areas to create an almost painterly effect. Others are layers and layers of colours that are applied both evenly or unevenly, then sanded or ground down in certain areas. Sometimes I add a clearcoat at the end. Sometimes I add paint or a patina on the exposed metal. Here are just a few examples of the colours I have and some of the samples I have been playing with.

This technique has many advantages. It is very durable, way moreso than most paints. It is also slightly flexible so that some amount of movement will not shatter it. It also allows me to use a lot of copper in my work and not have to worry about the copper staining any skin it is touching.

I give workshops in my studio, which work best when private or in a small group. The workshops are a great chance to take advantage of my equipment and colours (I have close to 30 different colours at the moment). Because the basics are so simple I essentially show you how to do it and give you the day to explore, or powdercoat as many pièces as you can. You can get more information here (English) or here (Français).

If you have any questions, or are interested in learning powdercoating, please contact me!