Two Tone Experiment

We've been working with 2 tone or mixing colors lately and it seemed like a good way to explain how we are using powder coat and to explain the different states of coating. The first photo shows the 4 states of powder coat curing:

• Powder: The coating is sifted on to the metal square.
• Eggshell: The piece is placed in the oven for a few minutes till the powder begins to melt.
• Flow Out: The piece is left in the oven a bit longer till the powder melts completely and begins to flow.
• Cured: The piece has been full cured for 10 minutes after the flow out stage.
• Half Coat: For demo purposes we coated half of the metal with white powder and then will add the red.

To add the red we simply covered half of the metal square with a business card (LBbyJ of course) sifted the powder on to it and removed the card leaving half red / half white. We have used a corrugated metal piece here to make it easier to pick the piece up with tweezers and wax paper so we can reuse the excess powder.

So how did it turn out, looking at the last photo here are some thoughts:

• Powder: Some white came through the red giving it a speckled look.
• Eggshell: Again some white speckles came through might need a heavier coat.
• Flow Out: Still a few speckles of white again a heavier coat would be better.
• Cured: Looks good with no speckles.
• Half Coat: Also looks very good.

In the end we think that putting a heavier coat on any of them would have help reduce the speckles of white. For ease of use / design though we say that either flow out or cured would be the best. Why, well let's say you made a mistake, happens sometimes, with the background cured already you can clean off the mistake and reapply the second color without having to start over or waste powder.

Keep your oven door closed, A&J