Surfaces on Aluminum

This article is another in the series of posts featuring notes from the staff on their favorite finish. Today, I have the pleasure of presenting my favorite finish. Although there is a wide array to choose from, below is my current favorite.

		Kelly Kjos Marketing and Social Media Manager My core roles include: overall knowledge of product and process in order to best determine what a customer is searching for, updates to social media feeds, and blog writing and posting.
My favorite finish is the NWG-694-R. I prefer this finish due to my love of cars. Motor vehicles have come a long way from using the wood grain on exterior panels to creating a sense of luxury by strategically placing wood grain on the interior. There are several automakers offering the wood grain as an option for upgrades. This detail gives the interior a warm color palette as well as a distinction from other models of the same vehicle. While there are several shades and styles, the darker shades are especially appealing to me.

The Inspiration

These woven wire structures feature thick strands of metal woven together to create a 3-dimensional mesh structure. The depth of weave reflects light creating a surface with a lot of movement and a nice tactile feel. There are many options when it comes to expanded metal, these are just a couple unique structures we picked to focus on.

Translated to Aluminum

When translating this finish to aluminum, the scale was reduced. The actual mesh is quite large, which is nice for walls or a surface with an extended viewing range, but in this case we were considering a piece of automotive trim or a nameplate.

These patterns feature a selective two direction norbrush over bright aluminum that creates movement like actual mesh. Dark grey is added for the detail. Finally, a clear texture is applied over the areas of bright aluminum to give the pattern a feel.

The designer disc collection features a cross-section of finishes on aluminum. It begins to illustrates the versatility of aluminum as a decorative substrate. The pattern samples are labeled for easy identification. The discs are useful when designing a custom finish. Request a disc collection to begin exploring the variety of textures and finishes available for nameplates and labels.

We're working on new finishes for our latest mood board. Here's a sneak peek at a couple of new finishes that will be featured. These are part of a new series of finishes exploring linear fretwork, layered grids and lattice configurations. These connected, joined, and engineered structures come together to create articulated aluminum surfaces.  Watch for the entire series to be featured here.

The designer disc collection features a cross-section of finishes on aluminum. It begins to illustrates the versatility of aluminum as a decorative substrate. The pattern samples are labeled for easy identification. The discs are useful when designing a custom finish. Request a disc collection to begin exploring the variety of textures and finishes available for nameplates and labels.

Basic black textures fuse with brushed metal, matte black and transparent grey.  Combinations of matte and glossy layers are explored in this series.

(from left to right, top to bottom) PAT-4440-A, PAT-2980-A, PAT-4095-A, PAT-3354-C, PAT-3355-A, DES-520-G *patterns not shown to scale

While working on the design for this year's holiday card, we considered may possible color combinations.  In the end we settled on a piano black finish due to the popularity of the finish in the marketplace.  However, we thought you might like to see some of the other colors considered and how simply changing one color altered the look of the holiday card.  Traditional red and green colorways were considered along with an elegant warm-white finish.  Which is your favorite?  What other color combination would you have tried?

Brushed aluminum tinted in cool grey reflects form and structure.  Satin finishes emphasize real metal character while pairing with an infinite variety of materials.

(from left to right, top to bottom) DES-1070-R, DES-1070-BM, DES-1070-FM, DES-1070-CS, DES-1316-K, DES-1070-AH *patterns not shown to scale

Request your designer disc collection to see more inspiring patterns.  What aluminum trim parts could you see these patterns on?

Translate beautiful variations of wood graining onto metal.  Explore different varieties of wood, such as sycamore, walnut and elm. 

(from left to right, top to bottom) NWG-546-AI, NWG-936-A, PAT-1604-OU, NWG-932-A, NWG-693-A, PAT-4159 *patterns not shown to scale

Request your designer disc collection to see more inspiring patterns.  What aluminum trim parts could you see these patterns on?

The Inspiration

A radial starburst is an interesting effect created by lines emanating from a central source. The line spacing increases as you travel away from the center creating an optical illusion of depth. An added level of detail is achieved when the remaining spaces between the lines are treated with different finishing techniques, such as a color or grain variation.  This is a great effect for accenting round shapes.

Translated to Aluminum

In this example, selective brushing is combined with tones to create a radial sunburst effect. The different grain directions caused by the brushing allows this finish to dance as it is flipped in the light. An added level of printed tones creates visual depth and gives the finish its overall dark appearance.

The designer disc collection features a cross-section of finishes on aluminum. It begins to illustrates the versatility of aluminum as a decorative substrate. The pattern samples are labeled for easy identification. The discs are useful when designing a custom finish. Request a disc collection to begin exploring the variety of textures and finishes available for nameplates and labels.

This group of dynamic aluminum finishes depend on brushing and spinning layered with transparent tints of color for the kinetic effect apparent in real carbon fiber trim.

(from left to right, top to bottom) PAT-4328-A, DES-1070-FM, PAT-3978-B, PAT-4268-A, PAT-4328-B, PAT-3878-A *patterns not shown to scale

Request your designer disc collection to see more inspiring patterns.  What aluminum trim parts could you see these patterns on?