Surfaces on Aluminum

One series of mechanical finishes with gradations of color has always peaked the interest of most that see it.  This series has a deep transparent blue tint.  Mechanical finishes are applied selectively with hard lines contrasting the soft fade of color. 

The consistent interest in these finishes had me thinking about what else could be done with gradations of color.  I like to let an idea percolate in my mind for a bit when working on new finishes.  My interactions during this time, often unrelated, inspire a new direction.  This cross-pollinization is exactly what happened.  Driving to work, I often have the pleasure of watching the sunrise and the colorful morning sky.  There it was in front of me - a fade from one color to another and another.  Each morning was a new palette of possibilities.

We started this finish by layering transparent tints of color.  We settled on a color scheme and layered this with a custom printed texture which also changed as it moved across the aluminum trim piece.  The texture has a crackled effect but could have been a pinstripe or dot pattern or anything else.  The texture provides a slight gloss change from the background finish.

Substituting in different colors gave us very different looks.  I think I see further development here... oh the possibilities.  What if we shortened the distance the fade is occurring over... or layered this with an opaque pattern?  I think I see another series on the horizon.  What do you see?  Want to see for yourself this gradation of color on aluminum?