07/29/2022
For years, fiberglass parts have been coated with a mixture of resin and metal powders to make them appear to be made from solid metal. One challenge with this process was getting a high enough metal in the coatings. It became hard to polish if the metal content was not high enough. The Dillon Works co. obtained a contract to surround the observation deck of the Seattle Space Needle with wavy bronze panels. Their idea was to create bronze fiberglass panels using molds. By using molds, this ingenious idea would greatly increase the metal content in the laminate on the outside surface. It was up to us to develop the process that could be used in a mold without melting the mold surface. When the metal-resin combination is sprayed into the mold, the metal being much heavier sinks to the mold surface. The mold surface becomes the outside surface of the panel. The metal content became so high we could change colors by chemically etching, like it is done with solid casting. This metal finish holds up well in the outside elements and can be brought to a high gloss.
