Powder coating with Michael Dale Bernard

As I'd stated in my previous post on the 2nd ECU metal symposium, there was a wonderful dynamic of old and new guard metalsmiths.

In my opinion, Michael Dale Bernard represents some of the new guard metalsmiths. His work is edgy and urban but still holds true to the values of metalsmithing. I thoroughly enjoyed his lecture and demo on powder coating.

Powder coating (definition via finishing.com) "is the technique of applying dry paint to a part. The final cured coating is the same as a 2-pack wet paint. In normal wet painting such as house paints, the solids are in suspension in a liquid carrier, which must evaporate before the solid paint coating is produced."
Here you can see Michael using the powder coating gun.

Some samples and car parts Michael brought in.
More samples. Ashley Brodie shows off some pieces Tara Locklear brought with her to have coated.

Powder coating is a much faster and more inexpensive way of coloring metal (versus using enamel). Of course enamel has it's own wonderful properties but I find myself really digging powder coating. It has this wonderful pop of color that is more slick.

Several of the grad students at ECU have been implementing powder coating in their work such as Marissa Saneholtz, Laritza Garcia, and Laura Wood. And powder coating is a fairly inexpensive process as compared to others (casting and enameling), for that reason the ECU metals guild has decided to purchase a powder coating set up (primarily a powder coating gun, the colored powder, a toaster oven and ventilation system).

I haven't yet decided how I'd like to utilize powdering coating in my own work but I have a feeling I'll definitely use it!
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