RSF BLACK FINISH

For many years our customers have wanted to know more about what exactly is our RSF finish, what are the advantages and disadvantages and why did we decided to develop and use this finish on our products. If it is so great, why doesn't everybody else use it? We have not been trying to avoid you all these years, but there just has not been enough space in our catalog to offer a full explanation.

The advantage of the RSF finish is that it will keep brass from tarnishing for 20-40 times longer than a traditional lacquer finish. The RSF finish is normally considered a finish that will last decades rather than just a few years or months. In black, this finish will also far outperform any other kind of black finish or paint on the market.

This finish is actually a process that we developed in 1979 and there are several variations to the process based on the metal it is applied to. The finish is a blend of white epoxy or acrylic powders that we charge at 100,000 volts and then atomize in a booth. In simple terms, we build a cloud of white powder that is charged at 100,000 volts inside a box. The parts are all hung on racks that run through this box with openings at both ends. The racks and the conveyor system are all carefully grounded so that when the negatively grounded parts run through a white powder dust cloud charged at 100,000 volts, the powder electrostatically attaches itself to the parts. The racks then continue along the conveyor and are baked in a 55 foot long oven before being cooled, inspected and sent on to the assembly department or warehouse. The powder turns to the proper color, or clear for brass, when it is cured in the oven.

At the time we developed this finish, we were in a residential neighborhood, operating our factory 24 hours a day and there was no way that the neighbors would have put up with any paint fumes emanating from our building. It was therefore imperative that we develop a finish that was, not only great, but environmentally friendly for our employees and our neighbors. Powder coating is totally non polluting and has no fumes in the process. Our chemists have assured us that the powder is so safe and non toxic that eating it would not harm the individual. The powder looks just like the milk powder used in coffee - a possible April fools day joke on the chemist?

So why epoxy, acrylics, blends etc.? The first stage in development was to establish the proper chemical blend of powder for our product line. Sounds simple enough but life never quite seems to work that way. Different parts have different masses and applications and therefore need different powder compositions. Epoxies are the strongest powders and the first we experimented with. These work great for Victorian style hardware, lighting and plumbing fixtures. The problem with epoxies are that they tend to be slightly cloudy, especially if excess powder attaches itself to the part. Epoxy blends are therefore great for parts that will be used for exterior use or that get extensive wear such as doorknobs. Acrylic blends are the clearest powders and look great on highly polished parts such as colonial chandeliers, but are not as robust to wear as epoxy blends. Items such as chandeliers or even faucet spouts do not get constant handling during the day and therefore acrylic blends look better and last a very long time. There are other factors such as some powders react more positively than others to gasses that tend to be trapped in brass castings and many other factors that go into the proper chemistry of our powder technologies. In over twenty years of powder coating and being the first company to offer successful powder coating over clear brass, we have extensive knowledge in this field.

All powder coating needs to be cured in an oven. It takes about twenty minutes to cure a part and the temperature in the oven has to be carefully applied to the part throughout the cure process. Parts with large different masses must be processed separately. A group of bathtub feet will go through the cure process at a higher temperature than a group of towel bars. The bathtub feet have so much more mass to them than towel bars that although the feet take a little longer to absorb heat, they retain heat a lot longer than towel bars. If both are processed at the same time, the towel bars will end up burnt brown and the feet will not cure properly and the powder will flake off.

Machine specifications must all be adapted to powder coating. Powder tends to be thicker than lacquer. This means that for all parts that are being machined for powder coating, the tolerances and specifications have to be different than non-coated parts, or chrome plated parts etc. If a standard brass extruded hinge for example was powder coated without taking into consideration the coating process, although the two leafs of the hinge could be forced together in the assembly department, the hinge would bind once it was installed and would not operate properly.

Certain parts do not lend themselves to powder coating. Accordion elements such as the brass supply line used in hand held showers do not take to powder kindly. A rubber or plastic liner is used inside the supply line that would get damaged during the cure process. Also, the accordion feature does not work as well as it should once powder has been applied. Sometimes we purchase pre-finished brass raw material sheet and coil stock which has a bakecoat finish. This finish is almost as tenacious as powder and works well and lasts for a long time on lower use items requiring a medium polish. Some parts or finished goods are purchased from other manufacturers with their finish applied. Most of these items, we just do not sell enough in a year to develop our own tooling and produce in our manufacturing facility.

Powder coating is a huge investment. A properly automated setup that will meet all local and state codes, provide consistent coatings for different parts in different colors is very expensive. To do clear coating well, the temperature and humidity needs to be consistent and knowledgeable engineers need to run the system. The component parts of our system and their installation cost well over $1 million back in the days when money was worth much more than it is today. Manufacturers are slowly starting to either powder coat themselves or they are subcontracting their powder coating work to companies such as ours that has vast experience in this field. When you can buy a spray gun, a compressor and a paint booth for just a few thousand dollars, avoid many of the headaches listed above, it is somewhat understandable why manufacturers are slow to adopt this far superior finish.